Video by Rob Schmidt

A St. Joseph man is breathing a sigh of relief after his motorcycle was found, following the arrest of two men suspected of stealing motorcycles in St. Joseph.

Jacob Storoz lost his $8,500 motorcycle outside of Kohl’s, 5505 N. Belt Highway, on May 22, when the thieves rolled the bike on to the back of their Dodge Dakota truck.

St. Joseph Police Capt. Kevin Castle said Mr. Storoz’s bike, as well as another motorcycle stolen a day before at Heartland Regional Medical Center, were recovered during the arrest of two men Monday in Coffeyville, Kan.

Mr. Castle said Robert Mowen, 33, and Shane Crowe, 31, both of St. Joseph, were arrested on unrelated charges and are in custody in Kansas. He didn’t know what they were being charged with.

“I would anticipate them getting charged here,” he said.

Beside some cosmetic damages to his bike, the thieves pried open the ignition and gas can lid so they could access both without keys, Mr. Storoz said. Whoever drove the bike, he said, did so for a long time.

“I don’t know how they managed to do it, but they put 2,300 miles on it,” he said. “You pretty much have to drive it non-stop to do that,”

Mr. Storoz’s bike will take some fixing up, and he said he’s looking at options to keep it from getting stolen again. In the meantime, he said he’s just happy to have it back in one piece.

“I feel pretty lucky that I got it back,” he said.

Mr. Storoz said it might be a long while before he parks his motorcycle alone in a parking lot again.

“I feel like I’d be tempting fate if I leave it just sitting out anymore, so I’m just going to drive around and take it back home,” he said.

Andrew Gaug can be reached at andrewgaug@npgco.com.