A few weeks ago while scrolling my inbox I came across a press release from Multnomah County DA Mike Schmidt. “Today… Leroy Alfred Parsons plead guilty to three counts of Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle, Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Theft in the First Degree. A Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge sentenced Parsons to 50 months in prison,” read the statement.
The name sounded familiar to me so I went to Google and typed, “bikeportland leroy parsons” (pro tip: the best way to search our 17,000 posts is to type “bikeportland” plus whatever you’re looking for). Sure enough, I got several hits. This Parsons guy is probably the most prolific and brazen thief in the history of Portland. This most recent bust involved stolen cars, but his vehicle of choice used to be bicycles.
Here’s a quick and very incomplete rundown of his 20-plus year crime spree:
- These most recent charges from the DA include unlawful possession of six cars between 2021 and 2022 and an “unlawful amount of meth”.
- In 2018 we reported that Parsons was sentenced to 25 months in prison and that he’d been arrested over 80 times over 20 years.
- In 2015 he was caught on camera stealing bikes and then admitted to stealing bikes while being filmed for a local TV news segment.
- In November 2015 we reported on an exchange Parsons had with a PPB officer where he showed no remorse for stealing bikes. “I promise you I’ll get away with a lot more than I’ll get caught for… So let’s play and see who wins,” he said in a conversation caught on the officer’s body-cam.
- Later that same year he was sentenced to 30 months in prison for stealing bicycles (and other crimes), which at the time was the longest-ever bike theft related sentence.
Given his long history of brazen crimes, lack of remorse, and repeat victimization of innocent people, it’s a testament to how complicated and embattled Multnomah County’s legal and mental health systems are that Parsons was even still on the street.
Parsons served only 90 days of his 25 month sentence in 2018. Our only hope is that because his latest sentence involves cars (and not bikes, which often don’t get the same level of concern from law enforcement or the judicial system), he might actually serve a longer sentence. And hopefully it’s enough time for Parsons to get his mind right. We all deserve better than to have him return to the streets just to continue his crime spree.
If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.
from Salem – Salem Local News https://bit.ly/3PAYcf6
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.