CHUBBUCK — Swift work by two Chubbuck police officers brought a smile back to the face of a 15-year-old who fell victim to the theft of his new mountain bike on Monday evening.

    Officers Shane Manning and Scott Conlin said the episode was a “feel good” moment for them because they recovered the bike within a half hour and then helped remove a nasty, last-minute paint job the alleged perpetrator did to cover his tracks.

    It all began about 5:15 p.m. when the male teen went to Walgreen’s in Chubbuck to pick up a prescription for his mother. He went to the pharmacy on a new mountain bike he had purchased from Barrie’s Ski and Sports in Pocatello after working to come up with enough cash. And it is a $450 beauty.

    Manning said the boy expected it to just take a few minutes to get his mom’s prescription so he neglected to secure the lock on his bicycle. Unfortunately there was a line at the pharmacy.

    “When he (the victim) came outside, his bike was gone,” Manning said.

    Fortunately there was an eye-witness to the alleged theft and she said she could identify the man. Officer Conlin prepared a photo lineup and and the officers also reviewed videotape from the pharmacy.

    “We knew the suspect,” Manning said.

    Manning volunteered to take the teen home and Conlin went to check out an area near T.J. Maxx in hopes of spotting the suspect. That’s when Conlin spotted Justin Guinn, 40, of Chubbuck, in the parking lot with a bicycle learning against a nearby sign. Conlin radioed Manning and the officer took the teen to the scene to see if he could positively identify the bike.

    There was just one problem, the bike had been freshly repainted with silver spray paint. A can of paint was lying on the ground nearby. Conlin said the bike was still wet.

    “He just went limp,” Conlin said about the teen’s reaction to the condition of his new bike.

    Guinn was taken into custody and charged with petit theft and malicious injury to property, but the officers were not done with the case.

    “We talked to each other and knew we had to do something for this kid,” Manning said.

    Conlin made a call to the Sherwin-Williams paint store in Chubbuck and got some good news.

    “They said they had some stuff to take the paint off,” Conlin said. The paint store also decided to donate the product and threw in some polish to help restore the original finish on the bicycle.

    Then Conlin and Manning went to the teen’s home to see what they could do to restore the bike.

    “We took the tires off and treated it,” Conlin said. “Thank goodness most of the paint came right off.”

    With a little more elbow grease the new bike was back to its shiny black finish and the officers were pleased with the effort.

    “It was the first time we saw him with a big smile on his face,” Manning said about the victim. “That’s what made it all worthwhile.”

    Manning said with all the negative publicity police officers have been getting in the wake of the Ferguson, Mo., shooting it was nice to be able to demonstrate that local police are here to serve and protect.

    “That smile made it all worth it,” Conlin said.

    Both officers has been part of the Chubbuck Police Department for about 18 months.