(Photo: PPB)
The Portland Police Bureau has nabbed another big-time thief who has a taste for high-end bicycles.
The PPB worked with officers from the Bike Theft Task Force and task force partner BikeIndex.org to arrest Joshua Dutcherson last Thursday. The 32-year-old suspect is being held in connection with three burglaries of apartment complex garages where he’s accused of lifting “numerous bicycles.”
Here’s how it went down, via the official police statement about the case:
The Bike Index website (https://bikeindex.org/) was instrumental in identifying some of the stolen bikes. An off-duty detective saw a suspicious van with three high end racing bikes the week prior and took note of the plate and the driver. While officers were investigating some new bike thefts the detective recognized the suspect and the vehicle as the same one he had seen a week prior…
Dutcherson is believed to have burglarized several locations in Southeast Portland to steal bicycles and re-sell them online. Dutcherson is suspected of breaking into locations in the 2600 block of Southeast Ankeny Street, the 1300 block of Southeast Umatilla Street and the 1600 block of Southeast Harold Street.
Detectives recovered three stolen bikes from Dutcherson who had already sold them to unsuspecting buyers. Detectives were able to locate the bikes and returned them to their rightful owners.
Advertisement
Dutcherson was booked into Multnomah County Jail on four counts of Burglary in the First Degree, three counts of Theft in the First Degree, Possession of Heroin, and Theft in the First Degree by Receiving. Dutcherson had outstanding warrants and was on probation for burglary when he was arrested.
This arrest is the result of closer coordination between the Police Bureau and members of the Bike Theft Task Force which includes Bryan Hance from Bike Index and is spearheaded by PPB Officers Dave Bryant and Dave Sanders. One of the major fronts of recent battles has been OfferUp, an online marketplace that’s an alternative to Craigslist and eBay. OfferUp and the Bike Theft Task Force have been actively working together to crack down on bike thieves — and it looks like these efforts are starting to pay off.
— Jonathan Maus, (503) 706-8804 – jonathan@bikeportland.org
BikePortland is supported by the community (that means you!). Please become a subscriber or make a donation today.
Thanks for reading.
BikePortland has served this community with independent community journalism since 2005. We rely on subscriptions from readers like you to survive. Your financial support is vital in keeping this valuable resource alive and well.
Please subscribe today to strengthen and expand our work.
Score another one for the good guys! If you haven’t done it yet- be register ALL of your bike(s) on BikeIndex.org !
At least keep a record of your serial number and a picture of your bike.
So what is a suitable punishment?
What about suitable rehabilitation?
I don’t think the are mutually exclusive. The man has apparently wronged a lot of people. They deserve some justice, in my opinion.
Punishment, being held to suffer the consequences of an illegal felony action, is a form of rehabilitation. It might not be effective as the sole form of rehabilitation but it’s an important part.
Our system of punishment and rehabilitation is broken, and this has an effect on the bike community.
The Department of Corrections portion of our state budget is HUGE. In 2001-2003 the State spent a little over $400 million to lock up a little over four thousand people.* And the projections only go up. For 2017-19, they think they’ll need $800 million to lock up about nine thousand people. That’s twice the budget. Now I’m not saying people who are convicted shouldn’t get punished or shouldn’t go to prison, but are we getting what we are paying for? Are we twice as safe? I’m pretty sure my bike isn’t twice as safe as it was in 2003. Now think about the bike infrastructure we could have for that extra $400 million.
Some people say it costs around $40k – $50k to keep somebody locked up for a year. Just for the sake of argument, assume this guy gets ten years. That’s a funding decision of $400,000 – $500,000 on just this guy. How many scholarships to Oregon colleges did he just steal? Or whatever other State program you want instead? It’s a lot.
I just wanted y’all to think about some of that as you casually type, “lock him up forever!” Yeah, I’d like this guy to be off the streets. But I also want other things, like the ability to send my kids to college and some bike infrastructure so they can get around safely.
* Those numbers I took from the Department of Corrections budget graph on page 5 of 71 available at: https://www.oregon.gov/doc/ADMIN/docs/pdf/operations_lab_15-17.pdf
Two words: Alaskan Gulag
“Dutcherson had outstanding warrants and was on probation for burglary when he was arrested.”
I think rehabilation has already been attempted……
Suitable punishment? Suitable rehabilitation?
What is it that’s going to work towards having this person put his energies and skills towards doing something legal, to make a living? If the info about Dutcherson’s arrests, is accurate, in Random’s comment via this link:
http://bikeportland.org/2016/09/26/bike-theft-task-force-helps-nab-prolific-garage-burglar-192245#comment-6702370
…so far, whatever arrests or rehab, dutcherson has been subject to, doesn’t seem to be working. Story says he’s 32 yrs old. Given the right circumstances, that’s young enough for some people to get their life turned around to something better than crime.
Given the 10 or so arrests this guy may have, someone in the justice and court system may know his story, and what his chances of getting away from crime may be.
Who cares as long he goes away forever.
restitution to all of his victims
Since he is a “non-violent” criminal, not much will happen to him.
Or do you think mere burglars get long sentences in Multnomah County?
Quick perusal – Dutcherson was also arrested in January, June, and October 2014, March, July, August and November 2015, and January, February, April, and May of 2016. (A couple of the arrests were in Washington County.)
I may have missed some.
I’m sure they’ll throw the book at him this time.
He just needs some rehabilitation. A second chance and a good support network and I’m sure he will become a fine, upstanding citizen. He’s definitely learned his lesson.
Judging by his arrest record, a second chance (and third, fourth, fifth, and sixth chances) didn’t work for him.
But the 13th chance is the one!
Joshua Dutcherson or David Dutcherson?
Confused.
David Joshua Dutcherson.
Forever??
Forever.
Sharia law?
Cut off his hand?
Under Sharia law he’d have stopped stealing bikes the first time. It’s hard to operate bolt cutters without hands.
Nice work, Bike Theft Task Force!
Hear, hear!
looks like this guy:
http://bikeportland.org/2016/04/01/police-need-help-finding-repeat-burglar-and-bike-thief-in-montavilla-neighborhood-video-179635
This does look very much like the guy who robbed us!
Some photos of him in action from KOIN here:
?w=639
?w=300&h=225
The technology exists to prevent bike thefts (and car thefts) entirely – an inexpensive GPS unit that goes inside the frame – looks like these are being developed, though unsure what the cost will be – http://www.sherlock.bike/en/home/
Looks like you need a cellular plan for each device/bike. That’s fairly cost-prohibitive.
There are other systems that don’t require a cellular plan, but none seem to be taking off very well. I have an iota tracker, but the coverage in Portland isn’t very good.
That’s not going to prevent a theft, it’s just a way to find your frame that’s been stripped down, repainted flat black and chucked into the bushes near a bike path.
I think the device is designed to be incongruous and I doubt most thieves immediately remove the bar end plugs. Sure, if you wait 2 weeks before tracking it, you might be out of luck. But to deride this technology as wholly ineffective is terribly short-sighted IMO
^not be incongruous rather
Two weeks? A bike can be stripped down to the frame in less than 30 minutes.
My point still stands, it will not prevent a theft but it might help you get a bike back. It has to be stolen first in order to get it back…
Yes the goal would be to increase the opportunity to recover it, perhaps from 1% to 50% – it’s not perfect
The thief will always be better than the technology. Always.
Wrong. This does not prevent theft any more than a smoke detector prevents fires. It will tell you where your stolen bike or car is.
When did we as a society become afraid to punish criminals? When did we start devoting more kindness to criminals than to their victims?
I know. I hate to say it, but stuff like this is why people become more conservative as they age. I know I do.
Part of it is aging; part of it is experience. I’m much more ready to seek punishment after having my house broken into; my car vandalized; my car broken into; two bicycles stolen. The bikes were stolen from work locations, but the other crimes were committed in a “good” neighborhood. Is my attitude due to aging or frustration that I’m spending good money to replace and repair stuff that criminals take or destroy?
What do you see as being afraid to punish and/or showing kindness? The comments? The sentencing by the judges? I don’t know anything about why this person has bounced in and out so many times.
Yes–his record of being caught and then bounced so many times–that’s indicative of what John Liu referred to, I’d say. Or our (police and judges) making excuses for speeding drivers and ‘protecting’ them from the consequences of their actions, even if they result in someone else’s death or injury. We even tacitly, societally endorse lame excuses–“radar’s unfair! speed traps are unfair!” Hence, we don’t enforce. We (all of us, City Hall, police, advocates) make excuses for homeless campers who are committing criminal acts and destroying public property while we enable every heroin addict for miles around.
We excuse so much bad behavior nowadays and come up with so many “good” reasons for people doing rotten things. We’re all just supposed to roll with so much wretched acting out and boorishness (at the very least), anymore.
It reminds me of how parenting styles have shifted in the past 20 years. Nobody wants to lay down the law. Nobody wants to be the parent. Nobody wants to be called (gud forbid!) ‘uncompassionate’ or ‘uncool.’
It is the stated policy of Multnomah County to avoid jailing non-violent offenders.
This sounds nice, humane, and liberal, but the continued illegal activities of people like Mr. Dutcherson, despite repeated arrests, are a consequence of this policy.
Nobody learns anything without consequences.
Dolphins learn to jump through hoops with only reinforcers. Or maybe they get beat behind the scenes if they don’t perform? Damnit.
Dolphins get free health care.
And food and shelter. Though the food looks much better than the shelter.
There is reinforcement for act and there is avoidance of acting. Both are behavioral.
Jumping through a hoop does not harm other people. Theft does but there is an incentive to do it. We try to disincentivize theft through punishment, meaning that the thief avoids acting because of the consequences.
Much of what we do as a society and as individuals is to avoid negative outcomes from an action.
Well said MOTRG. Didn’t see this when I commented–held?
Consequence: the result of an action or condition. Everything we do, including your weird example of oh so happy “reinforced” dolphins–look how they frisk and play in their 8×9 pens, culled from their families!–is a result of consequences. I think you misunderstand me.
(or maybe I misunderstood you? in which case–sorry)
Rachel, I am on auto-moderation because sometimes I say things that are not supportive of cyclists.
Actually that’s not why. It’s because you sometimes say things without the requisite consideration for others.
And I was commenting on Brian’s statement…not yours. I tend to agree with almost everything you put out there. Objective and rational!
I was being a dork with the example, but studying Behavior is a pretty big part of my life which means I tend to enter into discussions about Behavior with a nerdy perspective. We are just using different definitions for the word “consequence,” and I definitely get what you mean. Cheers!
When I reread your post (almost immediately after I responded), I picked up on that, Brian. Apologies for the knee-jerk response! I’m too ready to be leapt on by self-appointed ‘compassion’ reminders after comments like mine. Curious now about what you do–I am a mere lay anthropologist!
And thanks, MOTRG. 🙂 Though I have to give Jonathan a huge round of applause for staying on top of the comments–I would not want the job!
JM,
I actually consider everything I say. I also take the approach that an individual is responsible for (and in control of) their own emotions and they can choose if they want to be offended or bothered by something someone else says. I’m not a mind reader of what other people find bothersome, nor should I be. I think it is intellectually arrogant to assume to know what others think or feel.
Rachel,
I work in IT doing workflow analysis and process development but I studied Evolutionary Biology as an undergrad and Environmental/Transportation policy in grad school. However, sociobiology and evolutionary psychology is/was my real academic interests.
We punish people criminally for all the wrong things, like possession of minor amounts of cannabis; as a result there isn’t enough room in our jails for the real criminals who deserve to be there. Plus our prisons are entirely ineffective at rehabilitation and as a result recidivism rates are sky-high.
“We punish people criminally for all the wrong things, like possession of minor amounts of cannabis”
I seriously doubt that many people were in jail in Multnomah County for the “possession of minor amounts of cannabis”, even before it was legalized.
depends if you’re white or black; black w a gram standing on a street corner = ‘dealer’ = potential hard time unless you’ve got the kind of lawyer you can’t afford
“We” didn’t. In fact I think it is quite the opposite. We lock up more people than just about any other country on earth.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarceration_rate#United_States
We should be talking about getting “bang” for our corrections “buck”.
We have a brand new jail sitting empty . . .
He looks so sad. Like a younger Rudy Giuliani.
Most people are sad when caught. True remorse, however, only comes when the sadness arises not from getting caught but from realizing the ill one has done.
not sad, just wishing for another bump of heroin…
What we need then it seems, is another fee/tax. Instead of the Arts tax, another $30 – $50 annual “keep the bike thieves in jail tax”. Presumably everyone here is paying their Arts tax, of course.
Arts Tax…boo!
IMO the arts tax is something i actually support at least in concept, way better than funding endless foreign wars
it could show up as a stupid, separate “bill” and only about 50% of the people will pay it!
A better solution would be to make bikes more difficult to steal. For example, if they weighed 2500 pounds each, had complex locks and security systems as well as electronics that governed their operation and limited unauthorized use…, oh wait!
Bring back wooden stocks and let the public throw garbage at them. Nothing works like a good public shaming.
I am a high school special education teacher. I work with students who have mild disabilities (well, mild for the most part) in a full inclusion model in an Engineering/Bio-Med focused high school.
Anthropology classes were some of my favorite undergrad courses. What is your focus?
And no apologies needed. I’m not easily offended and don’t read too deeply into things.
You and MOTRG have interesting work! I’m a writer/editor and musician–and as I alluded earlier, endlessly fascinated with human behavior and what makes us tick, though no expert. 🙂