Portland bicycle owners can breathe a little easier.

Leroy Parsons Jr., the man prosecutors claim to be the city's most prolific bike thief, has been put out of business, at least temporarily.

Leroy Parsons Jr.

Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge John Wittmayer sentenced Parsons to 30 months in jail Monday after he was charged, again, with first-degree theft. Parsons could end up serving 18 months if he successfully completes a drug treatment program while behind bars.

It was a harsh sentence as it's rare for most bike thieves to spend even a day in jail, said county prosecutor James Hayden. But Parsons' history makes him a special case. He's been arrested and booked 98 times and has been the subject of Portland Police Bureau reports more than 200 times since 1998, the agency said.

Parsons has more than 25 felony and misdemeanor convictions in Oregon, ranging from theft, attempted robbery, possession of meth and identify theft, records show.

"He needed a huge timeout in prison and he's getting that," Hayden said.

Parsons was caught up in a bike theft sting set up by the syndicated news show "Inside Edition." In an episode that aired Nov. 13, a high-end mountain bike was wired with a radio transmitter and left locked on a downtown Portland street corner. Within minutes, a bearded man in a blue hoodie snipped the cable and rode off.

The show's crew tracked the bike to a homeless camp under a freeway overpass on the east side of the Willamette River that looked like a bicycle chop shop. Portland police converged on the site at about the same time, finding Parsons with the stolen bike, which was already half taken apart.

Months before the televised sting, Parsons told reporters at KGW that he's not a bike thief, unless it's convenient. "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."

Parsons isn't the only transient in Portland who's pilfered a two-wheeler. "We're definitely seeing a lot of bikes in these homeless camps," Hayden said. "But this was the guy our patrol officers were most frustrated with."

Parsons was sentenced to five years probation after his release. The judge ordered several conditions of his release: Parsons will not be able to possess a bike without permission of his parole officer. Also off limits are bolt cutters, bicycles with their serial numbers removed, and slim jims, tools favored by car thieves that quickly unlock car doors.

-- Jeff Manning

503-294-7606, jmanning@oregonian.com