Is this wrong?
Serious question – this is basically what the police due with “sting operations” and “honeypots,” so how is it different when it is done by private individuals?
If you have a right to protect your property with force, does that right extend to defending it when you have set up the violation of your property rights as a temptation to wrongdoers?
It seems to be this crime is operating in the nebulous world of “intents” – those favorite devices of the slave morality. Had these people just left a bike in front of their house (which everyone around me does – we have no thieves here) and happened to see a thief on their security camera or ring doorbell, then attacked the thief to get him to drop the bike, would it still be a crime, or would the couple still be prosecuted? Methinks not.
If it is, and you can’t defend your property, do you even have property rights?
This whole thing actually strikes me as something Batman would do to catch the joker, only it would be some fake superweapon, not a bike.