Judge sends thief to House of Correction

Man suspected of stealing 30 bikes

A Milwaukee man suspected of stealing 30 bicycles over three weeks this fall was sentenced Friday to another stint at the House of Correction for one of the thefts.

Because of his status as a repeat and habitual offender, Robert Geib, 54, could have been sentenced to prison on a single misdemeanor count to which he pleaded guilty.

Assistant District Attorney May Lee recommended a year, citing Geib’s long history of convictions, going back to 1982, for burglary and retail theft. Lee noted the impact Geib’s theft had on one victim, who said in a letter to the court that she had used her bicycle to get to work, and that some of the thefts occurred in very public places like Metro Market, the Milwaukee Public Market and the RiverWalk.

Geib told Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan, “I can do the time, it’s not a big deal. But I don’t want to be around a bunch of kids. These last 64 days I did, I’m miserable.”

Geib had agreed to plead guilty to one count of theft, and prosecutors agreed to drop two others. The three charged thefts involved bikes valued at $400 to $1,500. He was seen on surveillance video using bolt cutters to steal those three bikes between Sept. 19 and Oct. 2.

His attorney, Zoe Plovanich, had recommended Geib get a suspended sentence of a year in jail and 18 months of probation, with six months in jail as a condition.

Dugan noted Geib never apologized during his statement, then sentenced him to two years of probation, with six months at the House of Correction as a condition. If he later violated other conditions, he could serve an additional 11 months at the facility.

She also ordered that he pay $250 restitution to the one victim who had sent an impact statement to the court.