Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster's Stolen Bike Located In Mt. Oliver
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Steelers rookie wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster has been reunited with his stolen bike.
A Pittsburgh Steelers staff member arrived at the Mount Oliver Police station Wednesday afternoon to pick it up and return it to its owner.
But the story of how it got there starts late on Tuesday night, that's when a man contacted KDKA-TV. He said he had purchased Smith-Schuster's $800 bike earlier in the day.
KDKA's John Shumway Reports --
The person who called police said he bought the bike for $200. It wasn't until he was watching the news that he realized, it was the bike that belonged to the Steelers' player.
"I was like how can they disrespect my bike like that," Smith-Schuster said Wednesday from Steelers headquarters.
Mount Oliver police ended up picking up Smith-Schuster's bike at Maxwell's Pub.
"There was a male there who said he'd purchased the bike about an hour before that for $200 on the street," said Matthew Juzwick, chief of the Mount Oliver Police Department.
KDKA's Lisa Washington Reports --
The black Ghost bike, with bright green lettering was kept in the Mt. Oliver station overnight.
Here it is! The bike belonging to @TeamJuJu is at the Mt. Oliver Police Dept. after someone turned it in last night. #KDKA @steelers pic.twitter.com/us6rnF7vBb
— Lisa Washington (@LisaWashing) October 25, 2017
Chief Juzwick told KDKA, "It was the first thing I heard when I came in this morning, that his bike had been recovered, and the story behind it, of how it'd been recovered."
Chief Juzwick said the male described the person he bought the bike from, and that, at this time, there are not any charges expected against the man that turned the bike into police.
Smith-Schuster says he normally keeps his bike inside his apartment, but his mom is in town for a visit this week, and that's why he put it outside the night it was stolen.
"I had it locked up, secured, and they broke the chain and everything," said Smith-Schuster.
The wide receiver says he's not interested in pursuing charges if the thief is found.
"No, I think it's totally fine. If anything, I'm going to put a tracker on my bike," he said.
Smith-Schuster posted a video on Twitter Tuesday morning of him walking to practice saying, "Man somebody stole my bike, I ain't got a bike no more, I'm walking to practice, this is crazy."
Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown jumped in on Twitter posting a photo showing Smith-Schuster with his bike. Brown offered up two tickets to a Steelers game to the person who returned JuJu's bike to the Steelers facilities.
The social media movement to get the bike back grew quickly after news of the theft broke on Tuesday. The hashtag, #TeamFindJuJusBike quickly spread.
When news broke that it'd been found, there was praise. "Team JuJu's bike is successful," wrote one person. Another added, "It's a great day for Steelers Nation."
Police have released few details about who turned in the bike, but are glad this story ends well.
"I'm very happy that it was a positive outcome and it's very nice for there to be something positive in the news that he'll be able to get his bike back," said Chief Juzwick.
