Gilroy Motorcycle Center on Tenth Street has been the scene of so many burglaries and break-ins over the last two years that owner and general manager Greg Bumb is considering moving the business elsewhere.
It’s not just the repeated theft and property damage that is “beyond frustrating” for Bumb, whose family owns the motorcycle sales and service shop. He is concerned with what he sees as a lack of attention to the crimes by Gilroy Police and city officials.
Since January 2022—when Gilroy Motorcycle Center moved from its prior downtown location of 40 years to 303 East Tenth Street—there have been seven break-ins at the shop. The most recent took place about 2am June 2, when burglars broke open one of the shop’s sliding glass doors and six suspects entered the business.
The burglars stole five Yamaha and Kawasaki motorcycles, Bumb said. A surveillance video recording of the theft, posted to Gilroy Motorcycle Center’s social media accounts, shows suspects running through the shop after making entry, grabbing new bikes and rolling them outside to Alexander Street where a truck was waiting for the stolen items.
The shop has posted videos of all the thefts since 2022 on social media, and shared the recordings and other evidence with Gilroy Police, Bumb said. In other break-ins, thieves have damaged a fence surrounding the outdoor service and storage lot behind Gilroy Motorcycle Center and stolen bikes and a side-by-side.
In an August 2023 incident, two suspects rammed a U-Haul pickup truck into the front door, made entry to the showroom floor and loaded two motorcycles into the vehicle’s bed before fleeing. That same week, similar burglaries were reported at numerous other motorcycle dealerships in northern California, according to authorities.
An estimated $200,000 worth of merchandise has been stolen from Gilroy Motorcycle Center in relation to all seven incidents, Bumb said. That expense doesn’t count the rise in insurance premiums, repairs and extra security—including concrete k-rails now blocking the front doors and surrounding the fenced-in rear lot—that have cost the business more than $20,000 and counting.
After the latest burglary, Bumb said he is planning to install metal bars to reinforce the front doors.
Bumb said although all the incidents have been reported to authorities, Gilroy Police have not made any arrests or indicated that any suspects have been identified. He added that Morgan Hill Police recovered a motorcycle that was stolen last year from Gilroy Motorcycle Center’s rear lot, and San Francisco Police recovered a bike from another theft from the shop.
“All the assistance is coming from everywhere but Gilroy,” Bumb said.
The Gilroy Police Department did not respond to requests from this newspaper for comment and more information.
However, Bumb doesn’t just blame the police. He thinks city officials could be offering more resources or attention to address the ongoing public safety challenges.
In an Aug. 20 letter to Mayor Marie Blankley and Gilroy Police Chief Pedro Espinoza, Bumb wrote since the break-ins started, “there has been no progress in holding anyone accountable, recovering stolen property, or even preventing these crimes from continuing. The lack of tangible action is beyond disheartening; it is infuriating.”
Since writing that letter, Bumb noted that Gilroy Police have begun parking an empty patrol car outside the business to serve as a deterrent.
Bumb’s letter continues, “The financial and emotional toll of these repeated break-ins is overwhelming, and it is unacceptable that I have been left to bear this burden alone… I have chosen to establish my business in Gilroy and contribute to this community, but the rising crime and the apparent lack of an effective response are making it increasingly difficult to continue doing so. Frankly, I am at my breaking point.”
He listed a “demand” for three points of action from the city officials: a review of investigations related to the break-ins at Gilroy Motorcycle Center; a “significant increase” in police and patrols in the area; and a “concrete, coordinated strategy” among the city, police and Santa Clara county to address the crime problem.
According to crimegraphics.com, since September 2023 police have received or responded to 133 reports of stolen property, vandalism and burglary in Gilroy. From September 2022 to September 2023, there were 169 such incidents reported in Gilroy.
Those numbers show a slight decline in incidents throughout the city, but Bumb is not reassured.
“The next break-in (at Gilroy Motorcycle Center) is not a matter of if, but when,” Bumb said.
Gilroy has an anti-crime team. This sounds like a perfect assignment for them.