Cops Nab Bike Thief

Cops spotted a man having trouble riding a bike — a sign that he had just stolen it from its rightful owner.

The bike turned out to be just one of three that the man had lifted from the caretaker’s house at the West Rock Nature Center, cops said.

Here’s what happened, according to police spokesman Officer Dave Hartman:

At 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Officers Dwight Calderon and Carmelo Rivera responded to the caretaker’s house on a report of a burglary. They found a man who told them someone had stolen three customized bikes, keys, and a folding knife from him.

Cops searched the area, but found nothing. As detectives were processing evidence, the officers went back on patrol. They drove to the nearby Westville Manor housing project, where they spotted a man ​“struggling with the pedals of the bike he was riding,” Hartman said. ​“His feet slipped twice from the pedals as he watched the officers watch him. Officer Calderone noticed he was anything but adept at riding as Officer Rivera noticed the brand name of the bike: Merckx.”

The cops stopped their cruiser and got out to question the man. ​“He tried to run away. That didn’t work.” Officer Rivera caught him before he could flee.

The cops asked him about the bike he was riding. The 21-year-old said an ​“out of town friend” had given it to him. The cops escorted him home and he told them the other stolen bikes were in his shed. Cops retrieved the bike from the man’s sister, who had wheeled them out of the shed. They also retrieved the knife, keys, and a Nintendo Wii that the burglary victim hadn’t yet noticed was missing.

Cops charged the man with burglary, larceny, and interfering with officers.

In other police news, according to Hartman:

When Illinoisans Attack: At 2 a.m. on Saturday, detectives came across four men fighting at the corner of Chapel and Church streets. It became clear that two of the men had been attacked by the other two, visiting electrical contractors from Illinois. Cops arrested the two Illinoisans on assault and disorderly conduct charges. One of the victims was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital for treatment of facial injuries.

“Free Drink”: Just before 9 p.m. on Saturday, seven officers responded to Redenti’s liquor store on Grand Avenue on a report of an armed robbery. The store’s owners told cops that two men had entered the store. One pointed a shotgun at one of the owners while the other took cash from the register.

Before they left, the robber with the shotgun said, ​“Get everyone a free drink.”

Cops found a .20-gauge sawed-off shotgun on Exchange Street.

Register Van Used In Robbery: A 9:25 a.m. on Monday, police responded to the Mercury gas station on Foxon Boulevard on a report of a robbery. A woman who works at the station had stepped out of the store with a bank deposit of money from the previous day. Two men got out of a white van with the New Haven Register logo on the sides. They ​“forced the deposit bag from her grasp,” and took off.

The van had been reported as stolen by the Register, said editor Matt DeRienzo.

Knifepoint Mugging

Yale police Chief Ronnell Huggins announced that two teenage girls robbed someone at knifepoint at Elm and Temple Streets at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.