Cyclist Gets Year in Jail for Staging Accidents

A man who rigged his bicycle to fall apart upon impact in staged accidents was sentenced to one year in jail after he pleaded no contest Wednesday to theft charges, authorities said.

Richard Siddons, 33, of Tarzana, was first arrested Oct. 26 after police watched him stage two accidents with cars leaving the Ventura Freeway at DeSoto Avenue in Woodland Hills, according to the city attorney’s office.

Siddons, who said he is an unemployed plumber, was sentenced in Van Nuys Municipal Court after he pleaded no contest to six counts of theft. He was ordered to begin serving his sentence immediately, said Deputy City Atty. Wayne Mooney. He was also ordered to pay $653 in restitution to 11 of his victims, Mooney added.

Police had received several complaints from motorists who reported being involved in traffic accidents with a bicyclist who asked for money--in one case $75--to repair his bicycle after the accident, according to Mooney.

Siddons was identified by police after he filed a crime report accusing one of his victims of hit-and-run driving. Police then followed him to a Tarzana hotel and watched him place a red bicycle with a bent front wheel in a car and drive to the DeSoto off-ramp, Mooney said.

Mooney said Siddons adjusted the seat and front wheel of the bicycle so they would fly off upon impact and began riding along DeSoto Avenue and Clark Street near the freeway exit. He first struck a Ford Thunderbird and later a Ford Escort as the cars were leaving the freeway off-ramp, Mooney said.

Siddons was arrested after the second accident and booked for theft at the LAPD’s Van Nuys Division. He later pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on his own recognizance until his Nov. 17 trial, Mooney said.

After news reports of his arrest, eight more motorists contacted police to report being rammed by Siddons on his bicycle. More charges were filed against Siddons and he was arrested again on Nov. 2.