Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Portland’s Kingpin of Bike Theft Leroy Parsons Jr pulls 25 months

Leroy Parsons Jr., the 'kingpin' of Portland bike theft, has been sentenced to 25 months in prison. According to Portland Police, Parsons is a key figure in a network of bike traffickers who dismantle stolen bikes at makeshift chop shops. Over two decades, Parsons has been booked more than 70 times. Parsons' recent conviction was for probation violations, including possessing bike parts without written permission from his parole officer.

In 2015, Parsons, 50, was sentenced to an unprecedented 30 months in jail after pleading guilty to three counts of bike theft.
Parsons served 18 months of that sentence and was released on probation.
"I don't go clipping bikes," he said. "I don't go looking for them. But if you're dumb enough to leave a $2,500 road bike on the back of your car with no lock, I'm dumb enough to take it. I'm sorry, I'm not going to pass that one up."