Bike thief lassoed by man on horseback

Eagle Point, Ore. — You’d probably have a hard time believing this story, if there weren’t the pictures to prove it. A man took off with a bike that police say wasn’t his own, and a cowboy happened to be in the right place at the right time. He’s being called the “lone ranger” and the “John Wayne of Southern Oregon”, and tonight NBC5 News is learning more about the mystery man in these photos that have gone viral.

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Photo courtesy of Rob Roque/US Lawns.

Most days Robert Borba is roping cattle and kids, not criminals, but his usual routine took an unlikely turn when he went to pick up some dog food at the local Wal-Mart.

“I hear a lady yelling, ‘Stop him he stole my bike!'” Robert Borba tells NBC5 News.

The champion bull rider could tell the man was getting away, so he got backup.

“Grabbed Old Grey from the trailer and went for him.”

Rob Roque was landscaping at the big box store when it happened, snapping the pictures of the cowboy hero in action.

“He did it so well, I thought man he must be in a rodeo or something, it was perfect,” Roque says.

“I just roped him and the rope went down around his feet and I just rode off like I would if I’d roped a cow or something by myself,” Borba explains.0610 Cowboy Family

Borba held the man until Eagle Point police arrived, and then headed back to the farm to tend to his horses. And while his kids are proud to call him papa, he says he was just doing the right thing.

“Poor gals bike that could have been her only transportation,” Borba says, “stealing ain’t right so I figured get him stopped you know?”

Officers arrested the suspect, Victorino Sanchez, on a theft charge. He’s being held at the Jackson County Jail.

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