A BIKE thief in Eagle Point, Oregon, the U.S., got some old-fashioned frontier justice Friday when a passing cowboy chased him on horseback across a Walmart car park and brought him down with a lasso.

    In a scene that could have come out of a Roy Rogers movie — or more likely “Blazing Saddles” — Victorino Arellano-Sanchez, 23, found himself pursued by Robert Borba, 28, who was nicknamed “The Lone Ranger” by spectators.

    “I mean, who gets on their horse at Walmart and chases after somebody and lassoes him other than the Lone Ranger?” witness Rob Roque asked.

    The debacle began when Arellano-Sanchez attempted to steal a mountain bike from a woman in front of the Walmart.

    Borba, who is a rancher and former rodeo performer, overheard the woman’s screams while loading dog food and a camping tent onto his truck, the Mail Tribune reported.

    But Borba — who by his own admission “just don’t run very fast” — decided he needed more horsepower to bring the thief down.

    Literally: he brought his horse, Long John, out of his trailer and saddled up.

    The BMX bandit, who was struggling with the gears on the bike, decided to flee on foot at this point, but that only made it easier for Borba to use his lasso to bring the man down.

    With his legs tied, Arellano-Sanchez could only flail around as Borba dragged him across the parking lot.

    “Do you have a badge to do this?” the baffled thief asked.

    At one point he grabbed a tree and tried to use it to pull himself free, but Borba kept the rope taut while cops arrived.

    “I use a rope every day, that’s how I make my living,” he later told the Mail Tribune. “If it catches cattle pretty good, it catches a bandit pretty good.”

    Eagle Point sergeant Darin May said Arellano-Sanchez was a transient from the Seattle area. He was arrested on a misdemeanor theft charge and placed on US$3,000 bail.

    “We’ve never had anyone lassoed and held until we got there,” he added. “That’s a first for me.”(SD-Agencies)