Tour de theft targets high-end racing bikes Jet Tanner was sound asleep in his Irvine home on a March night when he was awakened by the sound of crashing glass. He ran to the front of the house just as the thieves were pulling away. They left a computer and a flat-screen television. In fact, the only thing they took was his 14-year-old daughter Millie's cyclocross team bicycle, worth more than $5,000 and custom made for her competitive racing. She was crying. She was devastated," Tanner recalled. She couldn't believe they took her bicycle and equipment and left everything else. In a place known for sophisticated jewelry heists, fine-art thieves and "the Bling Ring," it was only a matter of time before Southern California produced a crew who ripped off high-end bicycles. Authorities say that Millie was a victim of a group of thieves who for more than two years snatched nearly 200 expensive bikes with an estimated total value of $250,000. Detectives said the thieves scanned Craigslist and Facebook to identify targets, making away with designer racing bikes worth $2,000 to $15,000 each. They allegedly preyed on the growing online community of Los Angeles bike enthusiasts who share photos about rides and their latest bike acquisitions on various websites and look for parts on Craigslist. The victims, detectives say, include teenagers like Millie, bike club members, long-distance road racers and triathletes spanning six Southern California counties. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Major Crimes Bureau has arrested three men accused of being at the center of the bike-stealing ring. Two brothers from Los Angeles, Julian Herrera, 23, and Jamie Herrera, 21, and a Colton man identified as 34-year-old Alberto Mejia face dozens of counts of burglary and conspiracy after authorities reported finding purloined bikes and bike parts at various locations including one of the suspect's homes. Tanner quickly realized that the thieves found him through a Craigslist ad he placed earlier this year for one of his own racing bikes. He had listed his Pinarello road bike for sale for several thousand dollars in hopes of raising more money for his daughter's racing team. Someone responded to the ad, and Tanner said he set up a time to meet at his Irvine home. But the man canceled. Two weeks later, the burglary occurred. The thieves made away with Millie's custom racing bike, adorned with a her nickname "Milliegoat" and some sponsors' logos. "Bikes like this can be found at the store, but to build them to this caliber would cost between $5,000 and $10,000," he said. Authorities say the crew was operating on the Westside perhaps as far back as 2009. Los Angeles police made arrests in 2011 after a series of high-end bike thefts in Brentwood, Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica. The suspects included Mejia and Julian Herrera, who worked in his family's gardening business at some of the homes that were hit. Both men were arrested and eventually convicted, along with Julian's uncle Marvin Herrera. When they were released after a few weeks in jail, the high-end bike thefts resumed over a wider territory with help from the Internet, detectives say. Authorities allege that the suspects began scouring Craigslist and bike websites looking for expensive bicycles for sale. They allegedly chatted with the owners, using fake names like Joe Wayne, Justin Vyor and Mark Silverstein. Sheriff's Lt. Kent Wegener said the suspects tried to glean more information about the kind of bikes the sellers owned and where they rode. They even persuaded some sellers to email additional photos. If they got names of the sellers, they logged into Facebook in search of more information. They also used Facebook to find fellow riders who could become future targets, Wegener said. And they appeared to know what to look for.