In a modern twist on a classic old west story, a mounted cowboy in Oregon chased down a bicycle rustler and brought him to justice. According to the Medford Mail Tribune, local rancher Robert Bobra was loading up his truck after a shopping trip to the Eagle Point, OR, Wal-Mart. As he was tossing dog food and a new tent into the truck, he heard a woman shouting for help because someone was stealing her bicycle. Bobra, who was on his way to California for a cattle roundup, happened to have his trusty sidekick Long John in a trailer so he quickly mounted up, grabbed a rope, and rode to the rescue.
"I seen this fella trying to get up to speed on a bicycle," Bobra told the Mail Tribune. "I wasn't going to catch him on foot, I just don't run very fast."
Bobra and Long John made for the bike rustler, who was struggling to get the bike in gear. With the horse and rider bearing down on him, the bandit dumped the bike and tried to flee on foot. He didn't get very far however, as Bobra and his partner quickly rode him down, lassoed him around the ankles, and dragged him to the edge of the parking lot. Bobra called 911 and sat with the trussed up suspect until Eagle Point Police arrived about fifteen minutes later.
"Do you have a badge for this?" asked the stunned scofflaw.
When police arrived, EPPD sergeant Darin May identified the suspect as Victorino Arellano-Sanchez, a transient from the Seattle area. Arellano-Sanchez was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor theft charge.
"We've never had anyone lassoed and held until we got there," said Sgt. May. "That's a first for me."
Bobra, who recently moved to Eagle Point with his family after a few years in the professional rodeo circuit, told the Mail Tribune that he now makes his living as a rancher and ranch hand, and that rope work comes naturally to him.
"I use a rope every day, that's how I make my living. If it catches cattle pretty good, it catches a bandit pretty good."
"I seen this fella trying to get up to speed on a bicycle," Bobra told the Mail Tribune. "I wasn't going to catch him on foot, I just don't run very fast."
Bobra and Long John made for the bike rustler, who was struggling to get the bike in gear. With the horse and rider bearing down on him, the bandit dumped the bike and tried to flee on foot. He didn't get very far however, as Bobra and his partner quickly rode him down, lassoed him around the ankles, and dragged him to the edge of the parking lot. Bobra called 911 and sat with the trussed up suspect until Eagle Point Police arrived about fifteen minutes later.
"Do you have a badge for this?" asked the stunned scofflaw.
When police arrived, EPPD sergeant Darin May identified the suspect as Victorino Arellano-Sanchez, a transient from the Seattle area. Arellano-Sanchez was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor theft charge.
"We've never had anyone lassoed and held until we got there," said Sgt. May. "That's a first for me."
Bobra, who recently moved to Eagle Point with his family after a few years in the professional rodeo circuit, told the Mail Tribune that he now makes his living as a rancher and ranch hand, and that rope work comes naturally to him.
"I use a rope every day, that's how I make my living. If it catches cattle pretty good, it catches a bandit pretty good."
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