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A suspected bike thief learned the hard way that it’s not easy to get away from a company with more than 11,000 workers and hundreds of convenience stores.

On July 8, the suspect rode his bike past the Kwik Trip headquarters on Oak Street, dumped his bike a block away, and walked back to a bike rack where he allegedly stole a nicer one belonging to Chad Juel, one of the company’s managers.

He then stopped in the fleet fueling station and helped himself to some coffee and filters before riding away on the bright orange Salsa Vaya, valued at about $2,000, according to police reports.

Security video recorded the entire incident.

Juel reported it stolen, and the company’s loss prevention department sent pictures of the suspect and bike to police and local stores.

So on Monday, when a man matching the thief’s description rode up to an Onalaska Kwik Trip on a bike wrapped in a garbage bag and duct tape, an eagle-eyed worker called police.

Officers arrested 53-year-old David Steele of La Crosse on outstanding warrants and identified the stolen bike in spite of the disguise.

The bike was returned to its owner and Steele was charged Tuesday with misdemeanor theft.

Steele remained in jail Wednesday on a probation violation. According to court records, he was sentenced in 1999 to 20 years probation for setting fire to his home.

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