After a three-week spree of stealing seven U-Haul and other rental trucks in Portland and Gresham, Shane Bradley Dorn Sr. literally “just crashed,” a Multnomah County prosecutor said Wednesday.

Officers arrested Dorn when he was found sleeping - and high on methamphetamine - in an unoccupied unit at Northeast Portland’s Fort Knox Mini-Storage and U-Haul business, according to court records.

Dorn engineered his binge using a pry bar to break into overnight lock boxes where customers would return keys for the rental vehicles, the court records show.

“I haven’t seen a crime spree of this intensity in recent memory over three weeks,” Multnomah County prosecutor Eric Collins said at Dorn’s sentencing.

Multnomah County Circuit Judge Benjamin Souede sentenced Dorn to four years in prison, accepting a joint recommendation offered by the prosecutor and defense lawyer stemming from a negotiated plea agreement.

Initially indicted on 30 charges, Dorn pleaded guilty to five charges: second-degree arson, second-degree burglary, first-degree aggravated theft and two counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle.

Dorn also pleaded guilty to a separate fourth-degree felony assault charge in a domestic violence case. He threw his pregnant girlfriend down a flight of stairs on March 27, nine days after she requested a restraining order be dismissed against him, according to prosecutors and court records.

He was unemployed and described as “transient’’ and “couch-surfing’’ during his serial U-Haul thefts.

As part of the plea agreement, he was ordered to pay a total restitution of $5,000 to one U-Haul rental business, $865 to another and $1,159 to a third, for a total restitution of $7,024. He also was ordered to pay another $7,803.05 in restitution to the mother of his child.

“I apologize to everyone,’’ the 34-year-old said as his family, his ex-girlfriend and his toddler son watched from the public gallery. “I did lose control then, before being arrested. I just want to say I’m sorry to everyone, and I hope to change my life.’’

He said he’ll work in prison to “become a better person and a better father.’’

After his June 15, arrest, Dorn admitted his involvement in the multiple U-Haul thefts to Portland Detective Meredith Hopper.

An employee at Fort Knox Mini-Storage and U-Haul, at 5530 N.E. 122nd Ave., had found Dorn sleeping that day in the unoccupied storage unit. He had broken into the building and a fire alarm was activated, according to court reports.

Dorn was found with a small pry bar, metal wire cutters, scissors and two lighters, according to police and prosecutors.

He admitted he stole a van and truck on May 24 from U-Haul Storage at Columbia, at 955 N. Columbia Blvd. An employee there found someone had broken into the overnight key drop box and took off with a Ford F150 pickup and a van.

Five days later, the pickup was discovered parked and partially torched near Northwest 14th Avenue and Raleigh Street.

Portland Fire Investigator Wendy Staley determined the fire had been set in the passenger seat of the pickup, which melted the front seats.

Dorn told the detective he had set that truck on fire “because he was done with it,’’ according to a probable cause affidavit.

He said he had poured gasoline on the passenger seat and then lit papers on fire. Police criminalists later lifted Dorn’s fingerprint from a bottle found with the vehicle, the affidavit said.

Also on May 29, he broke into Van’s Towing and U-Haul at 1520 N.W. Quimby St. , police said.

Employee and tow truck driver Carlos Amador said he approached the lot around 7:30 a.m. and saw the gate broken open. He soon noticed someone had smashed out a window to gain access to a trailer at the business and stole cash, other items and a 2018 GMC U-Haul cargo van, he said. Among the cash taken from the trailer was about $1,700 in personal money belonging to Amador.

“He took a lot of stuff. We have tools in the truck that we lost,’’ Amador told The Oregonian/OregonLive. “The trailer was a mess.’’

The stolen U-Hall van was discovered later abandoned on the shoulder of Interstate 5, near the intersection with Highway 217, Amador said. It too had been burned.

Dorn admitted he stole two trucks from that location after prying open a fence but told police someone else was with him and broke into the business trailer on the property.

“I don’t want to see anyone go to jail but you have to pay for the damage, and he did a lot of damage,’’ Amador said by phone after Dorn’s sentencing.

Dorn, according to an indictment, also broke into Rob’s Auto Repair shop at 3775 W. Powell Loop in Gresham on June 5 and stole multiple laptop computers, according to court papers.

Dorn said he’d been using methamphetamine daily during his serial U-Haul thefts, according to court papers.

Dorn’s defense lawyer Gayle Kvernland said Dorn had successfully completed a prior five-year probationary sentence and inpatient treatment with Volunteers of America following 2014 convictions for possessing methamphetamine and criminal mischief.

But one month after his probation ended, he was in a car accident, was prescribed medication and then relapsed in 2019, using methamphetamine to self-medicate, she said.

Jourdon Blake, the mother of his son, said she was working two jobs and was supporting Dorn when they were together, but she said she had no idea of the extent of his crimes. She was 27 weeks pregnant when she was assaulted, according to prosecutors.

“He had plenty of support…I offered to go to treatment with him to make sure he stayed clean and support,’’ she told the judge.

Then she turned to Dorn, “Was it really, all of it, worth it?’’ she asked. “My son’s going to have no father,’’ because of your actions.

Dorn just looked down at the defense table, saying nothing.

Once he completes his prison term and starts five years of probation in the domestic violence case, he’ll be on GPS monitoring and must complete a batterer’s intervention program. He also must not have contact with Blake or their son, unless he gets prior approval from his probation officer.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

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