Jeffersonville mayor fights off thieving teens

What started as an ordinary Tuesday night for Jeffersonville, Ind., Mayor Mike Moore turned more alarming after he wrapped up dinner with his family.

While washing the dishes around 7:30 p.m., Moore said he noticed a group of five teens — some walking, some biking — peering at his house and yard on East Court Avenue.

Moments later, he saw the same teens enter his garage and knew it was time to investigate.

"It caught my attention that they seemed a little nosy," he said.

Moore said he caught them attempting to steal from his garage and yelled them off the property. They quickly tried to disperse.

Moore said he attempted to stop one of the teens, grabbing him by the hair as he sped by. The others soon saw what happened and surrounded Moore, still holding on to the teen's hair. Moore said the group attempted to fight him, throwing punches in his direction until he released the the teen he caught first. Once their friend was freed, the group made a final break for it.

Moore said the crew didn't make it away with anything in the garage, he suspects they were after more bikes, but they left two of their own bikes behind as they fled.

"They came to rob me and lost two of their bikes," he said. "We're going to find a couple of needy kids that need some bikes if we don't find who these belong to."

Moore posted a photo of the bikes, one green and black Schwinn and a red and yellow Nerf, on Facebook shortly after, asking in the caption if anybody recognized the bikes. One commenter said they looked similar to bikes seen on the Big Four Bridge earlier that night.

Moore also filed a report with Jeffersonville Police. The police did not immediately return calls Tuesday afternoon.

Reporter Kae Holloway can be reached at 502-582-4056. Follow her on twitter at @reporterkae.