A Portland man who spent roughly a year raiding convenience stores across the city, at one point hitting a single Plaid Pantry location 39 separate times, was sentenced Wednesday to six years and eight months in prison. Timothy Ray Jones, 54, pleaded guilty to a dozen felony counts tied to a theft spree that prosecutors say cost stores about $50,000 in stolen merchandise, most of it cigarettes.
Jones targeted Plaid Pantry locations in North and Southeast Portland, according to KATU, committing more than 40 theft incidents that included roughly 30 separate hits on Plaid Pantry stores between March 14 and November 3. He pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree theft, one count of first-degree aggravated theft, two counts of organized retail theft, seven counts of second-degree burglary, and one count of unauthorized use of a vehicle. Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Theresa Turner said Jones went behind store counters and loaded bags with tobacco products, taking advantage of the same vulnerability that has pushed convenience chains statewide to rethink how they store high-value merchandise.
A Spree That Outpaced the System
Jones was arrested between many of the theft incidents, the station’s report notes, yet the pattern continued for close to a year before the case was fully consolidated. That gap became a public flashpoint in December 2025, when Jones was released from Multnomah County jail after posting just a $25 bond deposit — 10 percent of a $250 bail amount — following his indictment on 58 counts of theft and burglary tied to nearly $38,000 in stolen cigarettes and cigars. Oregon law required prosecutors to file that indictment within five business days of his arrest, and court administrators were struggling to assign him a public defender amid Multnomah County’s indigent defense crisis, according to KGW.
Plaid Pantry President and CEO Jonathan Polonsky publicly criticized that release at the time, telling KGW that Jones allegedly hit Plaid Pantry stores three more times within days of posting bond. It was a stark illustration of how a single defendant can slip through statutory cracks even while investigators are actively building a case against him.
Building the Case Store by Store
Once the case moved forward, Multnomah County prosecutors documented a string of high-dollar incidents in late 2025 and early 2026, including four separate visits between November 27, 2025, and January 25, 2026, where Jones stole more than $1,000 in merchandise each time, according to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office. Under Oregon law, taking over $1,000 in goods during a single theft is enough to elevate the charge to first-degree theft, a Class C felony that can carry prison time…