Man arrested after being caught on video placing dangerous obstacles on MTB trail

The Westchester County Police Department in New York is reporting that a man has been arrested and charged with “deliberately placing tree limbs and other debris along a trail way used by mountain bikers at Blue Mountain Reservation, potentially exposing those bikers to serious injury.” The 44-year-old was caught thanks in part to three trail cameras installed by members of the Westchester Mountain Biking Association (WMBA).

“I personally installed two cams while another member deployed another, so we had three that we moved around over a period of seven months,” WMBA President Sam Lee told Singletracks over email.

Lee says riders began noticing deliberately placed objects in the trail about two years ago. The group fielded reports from local riders for about eight months before deciding to install the trail cameras in hopes of catching the culprit.

Logs and limbs were placed at the bottom of steep granite rollers

Blue Mountain is one of the largest and most popular mountain bike trail systems within an hour of New York City, according to Lee. In fact, Singletracks readers rate it the top trail in the state of New York. The park is popular with many types of mountain bike riders, from XC to enduro thanks in part to the expansive rocky and rooty terrain.

“Blue Mountain has several granite rollers scattered across the park. The descending lines were the most dangerous spots for these hazards to be found,” Lee said. Knowing this, trail cameras were placed in these areas in order to catch the saboteur, dubbed the Blue Mountain Bandit.

Unfortunately, trail vandalism, often designed to harm riders, is not unusual. Singletracks has reported on many cases over the years.

Video leads to arrest

The county police department worked with park rangers to identify a male suspect, but there was insufficient evidence to charge him. Thanks to the trail cameras installed by members of WMBA, and the footage captured, police were finally able to arrest the Blue Mountain Bandit.

“The 44-year-old man was charged with Criminal Nuisance 2nd Degree, a misdemeanor. He was booked at County Police headquarters in Hawthorne and released pending a May 19 appearance in Peekskill City Court.” According to an Instagram post from WMBA, the man, who is not being identified here, confessed to the crime.

Luckily, there are no official reports of injuries due to the obstacles placed on the trail. In the video screenshot shown above, one of the steep granite rollers appears to be slippery with moisture and moss, and a large branch is placed at the bottom, making it difficult for riders to avoid without going over the bars.

“No one was reported to have been hurt by these, but after the arrest and publication by the Westchester PD, one person stated they were hurt by tree limbs laid across trails on our Facebook page,” Lee said.

Blue Mountain trails are safe once again

Now that a suspect has been charged, local mountain bikers should be able to breathe a sigh of relief after months of uncertainty. Lee is particularly stoked.

“Our annual ChainStretcher Festival and Race will take place on Sunday, June 8th this year. I’m really glad we caught the Blue Mountain Bandit before the event!”