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That Leroy Parsons? Again? (Deep sigh)


A Portland Police officers confiscates stolen bikes during a drug bust in Old Town in 2012. (Photo: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

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:

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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 ever still back on the street without any change in his behavior.

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 the help he so desperately needs. We all deserve better than to have him return to the streets just to continue his crime spree.

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