Jan. 28--Burbank police on Thursday recovered the bike of a 13-year-old boy with special needs, five days after it was stolen from his Burbank apartment complex garage.
After a whirlwind of media coverage on the theft, the boy's mom, Allesha Jeffries, got a phone call Thursday afternoon from police, asking if she was home.
The officers were outside her apartment complex, asking if she could come down to identify a bike spotted on the side of a road in Silverlake by a woman who had seen the news the night before.
"I ran down there, I opened the door and I'm like, 'Oh my God, it's it, it's it,'" Jeffries said. "'It's beat up, but it's it.'"
Forensic investigators came by shortly after to pull fingerprints from the bike, as the thief remains at large.
The $5,300 Berkel bike, which needs to be repaired, was customized two years ago for 13-year-old Damian "DJ" Jeffries, who has cerebral palsy.
With his mom's help, Damian rides the bike a couple times a week -- sometimes just to a restaurant down the street. The goal, she said, is for him to be independent enough to ride to and from school on his own.
Before the bike was recovered, Jeffries launched an online crowd-funding campaign for a replacement bike, which overnight generated more than $1,300. That money will now go toward the bike's repairs, she said.
Friends and strangers shared her story on social media, and one local attorney even offered to fully fund a replacement bike.
"The outpouring of support has totally outweighed the negative part of this whole thing," she said. "I don't even know how you begin to thank people."
Finances have been tight, as Jeffries, a single mother who works as a nurse, was out of work for two years due to a shoulder injury, she said.
"It's been rough," she said, adding that she's been back at work now for about six months. "Anybody who has a special needs child knows."
Police are still looking for the man suspected of stealing the bike.
He was described as Caucasian or Hispanic, in his mid-30s, roughly 5 feet, 9 inches tall and about 170 pounds. He wore a black hooded jacket, a black and white beanie, and dark jeans.
Anyone with information on the suspect is asked to call Burbank Police Det. Aaron Kay at (818) 238-3210. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.
