Police: City Man Chained Bike, Self to LANTA Bus

A Bethlehem man was charged with disorderly conduct Thursday morning after he chained his bicycle and then himself to the inside of a LANTA bus, city police said.

Lee Roy Poole-Smith, 23, of 715 Maple St., is accused of creating the disturbance at 7:19 a.m. at LANTA’s Bethlehem bus terminal at W. Broad and Guetter streets, according to a police incident report.

The Express-Times reported that the bus driver called police on Poole-Smith after he took the bike on board the bus instead of placing it on the bus bike rack on the bus’s front exterior, making it difficult for other riders to get on and off the bus.

According to the newspaper:

• Poole-Smith told police that he did not want to put the bike on the rack because the rack is broken and he did not want his bike scratched.
• Not seeing a problem with the rack, police told Poole-Smith he needed to move his bike or get off the bus. Poole-Smith responded by chaining his bike to the inside of the bus, then chaining his leg to the bike.
• Poole-Smith ultimately relented and got off the bus after police called the to the scene to cut the locks. The standoff took about a half-hour.