BY RON SYLVESTER
The Wichita Eagle
Two men walked into Wichita area motorcycle dealers and rode away with about $50,000 worth of motorcycles, using the stolen identities of two former professional football players.
Now, Wichita police are asking for help trying to find the men who used the stolen identities of former St. Louis Ram Dexter Coakley and former Washington Redskin Gary Sayre.
The motorcycles together were valued at about $50,000.
The men's pictures appeared on the identification they presented. But the names and other information were from Coakley and Sayre.
The men accused of using the former players' identities to obtain the motorcycles are white. Coakley is black.
"They had the information for people with some very good credit," Capt. Darrell Haynes said Monday.
Wichita police said the motorcycle buyers appeared to travel together. A man bought a Harley-Davidson at Alef's Harley-Davidson in Park City on Nov. 13 using one of the stolen identities.
Two days later he showed up riding the stolen bike, as another man illegally obtained a motorcycle from Big Dog worth about $35,000.
Buying a motorcycle isn't much different from buying a car, said Nick Messer, president of Big Dog Motorcycles. Buyers need enough information to run a credit check and gain approval.
The bike taken from Park City is a black-and-chrome V-Rod -- or Night Rod -- by a man who is about 5-feet-5 inches tall, 180 pounds with blonde hair, a goatee and a rose tattoo on his left hand. As part of the sale, he also got a black helmet, jacket and leather chaps.
He listed Gary's Used Cars, the lot the real Sayre owns in Dallas, as his employer on the application, police said.
Sayre was drafted in the fifth round by the Washington Redskins in 1981.
At Big Dog, a 6-foot white man weighing 180 to 200 pounds listed the Dallas Cowboys as Coakley's employer on the loan application.
The real Coakley is 5-foot-10, 230 pounds and black. He played for the Cowboys from 1997 to 2004. Coakley last played with the Rams in 2006.
The impersonator rode off with a custom K-9 model chopper, silver based with light blue skulls painted on it and darker silver flames. He is believed to be between 30 to 35 years old. The real Coakley is 35.
The sales manager for Big Dog did not immediately return a phone call late Monday.
Identity theft has risen in the NFL ranks as it has with the rest of the nation, a league spokesman said Monday.
Brian McCarthy said the NFL has made fighting identity theft part of its weeklong rookie orientation program, because their numbers and anonymity make them good targets.
At any time, there are 2,000 players in the league. Professional football players make high incomes, making them eligible for good lines of credit.
"When you count retired players, you're probably talking about 10,000 out there," McCarthy said.
"We inform the players that they need to take precautions to protect personal information," he said.
McCarthy said the league security office had been in touch with Wichita police. Haynes said police were planning to talk to league security officials next week.
Police distributed the impostors' photos Monday, along with pictures of the bikes.
Anyone with information is asked to call the auto theft section of the Wichita Police, 316-268-4336, the Park City police, 316-744-2011, or Crime Stoppers, 316-267-2111.
_________________________
JohnC - Kechi, KS
The Wichita Eagle
Two men walked into Wichita area motorcycle dealers and rode away with about $50,000 worth of motorcycles, using the stolen identities of two former professional football players.
Now, Wichita police are asking for help trying to find the men who used the stolen identities of former St. Louis Ram Dexter Coakley and former Washington Redskin Gary Sayre.
The motorcycles together were valued at about $50,000.
The men's pictures appeared on the identification they presented. But the names and other information were from Coakley and Sayre.
The men accused of using the former players' identities to obtain the motorcycles are white. Coakley is black.
"They had the information for people with some very good credit," Capt. Darrell Haynes said Monday.
Wichita police said the motorcycle buyers appeared to travel together. A man bought a Harley-Davidson at Alef's Harley-Davidson in Park City on Nov. 13 using one of the stolen identities.
Two days later he showed up riding the stolen bike, as another man illegally obtained a motorcycle from Big Dog worth about $35,000.
Buying a motorcycle isn't much different from buying a car, said Nick Messer, president of Big Dog Motorcycles. Buyers need enough information to run a credit check and gain approval.
The bike taken from Park City is a black-and-chrome V-Rod -- or Night Rod -- by a man who is about 5-feet-5 inches tall, 180 pounds with blonde hair, a goatee and a rose tattoo on his left hand. As part of the sale, he also got a black helmet, jacket and leather chaps.
He listed Gary's Used Cars, the lot the real Sayre owns in Dallas, as his employer on the application, police said.
Sayre was drafted in the fifth round by the Washington Redskins in 1981.
At Big Dog, a 6-foot white man weighing 180 to 200 pounds listed the Dallas Cowboys as Coakley's employer on the loan application.
The real Coakley is 5-foot-10, 230 pounds and black. He played for the Cowboys from 1997 to 2004. Coakley last played with the Rams in 2006.
The impersonator rode off with a custom K-9 model chopper, silver based with light blue skulls painted on it and darker silver flames. He is believed to be between 30 to 35 years old. The real Coakley is 35.
The sales manager for Big Dog did not immediately return a phone call late Monday.
Identity theft has risen in the NFL ranks as it has with the rest of the nation, a league spokesman said Monday.
Brian McCarthy said the NFL has made fighting identity theft part of its weeklong rookie orientation program, because their numbers and anonymity make them good targets.
At any time, there are 2,000 players in the league. Professional football players make high incomes, making them eligible for good lines of credit.
"When you count retired players, you're probably talking about 10,000 out there," McCarthy said.
"We inform the players that they need to take precautions to protect personal information," he said.
McCarthy said the league security office had been in touch with Wichita police. Haynes said police were planning to talk to league security officials next week.
Police distributed the impostors' photos Monday, along with pictures of the bikes.
Anyone with information is asked to call the auto theft section of the Wichita Police, 316-268-4336, the Park City police, 316-744-2011, or Crime Stoppers, 316-267-2111.
_________________________
JohnC - Kechi, KS
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