An Oregon man who almost daily managed to steal hundreds of dollars of electronics from the downtown Portland Apple Store to feed his $150-a-day heroin habit was sentenced Friday to 3 ¾ years in prison.
Todd Anthony Billinghurst, 39, became so familiar to employees that they knew him by name. “They would see him coming and say, ‘Stop, Todd!’” said prosecutor Kevin Demer. But their pleas had no effect, he said.
Billinghurst could clearly see into the store, which is essentially a giant glass box on three sides, and he later told police he would watch from afar until the security guard on duty took a break. Then Billinghurst would run into the store, grab an average of about $700 worth of merchandise, often two Bose headphones at a time, and escape within 20 seconds, according to the prosecution. This went on day after day for… Oregon Live