Judge lowers bail for man arrested for campus bike thefts
A 53-year-old man, who was arrested Friday after stealing two bicycles on the Syracuse University campus, had his bail and larceny charge lowered on Thursday morning in the Syracuse City Court.
Eduardo Stith did not show up for his court appearance Thursday at 10 a.m. City Court Judge Stephen Dougherty reduced Stith’s charge of grand larceny to petty larceny. Dougherty also reduced Stith’s bail from $10,000 to $5,000.
Stith’s next court date was set for Oct. 23.
Police arrested Stith in front of the Crouse Hospital emergency entrance on Friday shortly after he had stolen a $1,370 bicycle outside of Archbold Gymnasium, the Department of Public Safety said. DPS officers also connected Stith to a bike theft that happened outside of Kimmel Hall the day before.
When Stith was arrested, he was charged with criminal mischief, possession of burglary tools, trespassing and grand larceny.
Stith admitted in a criminal statement that he arrived on campus with a pair of bolt cutters with the intention to find an expensive bike with a cheap lock on Friday. However, Stith denied stealing other bikes and said in his police statement that the theft on Friday was the first time he had stolen a bike from SU’s campus.
Stith said in his statement that his motive was irony, and claimed he was mentally ill in his defense. He also listed the Rescue Mission as his residence.
Published on October 16, 2014 at 1:28 pm
Contact Anna: almerod@syr.edu