Reading police recover stolen dirt bike, arrest 2 men
Jun. 29—Reading police recovered a stolen dirt bike and arrested two men after an officer discovered the unregistered vehicle parked on the street in front of a home.
Charged with receiving stolen property and driving an unregistered vehicle Tuesday were Carlos Diaz-Colon, 18, of the 400 block of South 10th Street, and Jose M. Morillo-Corporan, 20, of the 200 block of West Greenwich Street.
Morillo-Corporan was committed to Berks County Prison in lieu of $10,000 bail to await a hearing after arraignment Tuesday night before District Judge Steven Chieffo in Reading Central Court. Diaz-Colon's bail was set at the same amount, which he posted.
According to the probable cause affidavits:
About 10:15 a.m. Tuesday, Officer Michael Marshall noticed a dirt bike parked in front of a home where Diaz-Colon resides in the 400 block of South 10th Street.
Standing beside the unregistered vehicle was a male later identified as Morillo-Corporan, who hopped onto the bike and tried to start the ignition.
"Don't do it," the officer said twice. Morillo-Corporan got off.
The officer asked him who the bike belongs to. He said it belonged to his cousin, but refused to provide the cousin's name.
When asked why the dirt bike was parked there, Morillo-Corporan said he brought it there to sell to his friend, later identified as Diaz-Colon.
The officer noticed the engine was warm, indicating it had recently been driven. It's illegal to drive an unregistered motor vehicle on a public road, and illegal riding of dirt bikes and ATVs has been a problem in the city, prompting a crackdown by police.
After entering the vehicle identification number into a law enforcement database, Marshall discovered the dirt bike had been reported to Muhlenberg Township police as stolen.
The office spoke to Diaz-Colon on the porch. Diaz-Colon refused to give him identification and was uncooperative.
Marshall asked another office to check footage from the nearest pole-mounted security camera and it was discovered that Diaz-Colon was driving the bike in the area of 10th and Muhlenberg street.
Both men were taken into custody at the scene and the dirt bike was impounded.
