PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A serial burglar was sentenced to 6 years in prison for 10 burglaries he committed in 8 months in Portland.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said Melvin Tillman, 64, pleaded guilty and admitted to the break-ins. Investigators said Tillman would kick in doors or smash out windows to get in overnight or early in the morning. He stole or attempted to steal money from the cash registers.
Before his sentencing for these 10 burglaries, Tillman had 43 other felony convictions, 33 of them being 2nd-degree burglary.
In April 2018, Tillman was arrested for a crime spree in Northwest Portland and then released just days later.
At the time, Morgana Hardy at Blush Beauty Bar, which was victimized, said businesses were struggling a lot with thefts and had to take extra steps to protect their shops.
“In an ideal world, we wouldn’t have to do that but kind of everyone is stepping up security efforts a little bit more,” Hardy said.
He was also ordered to pay $4,745 in restitution to five of the businesses.
“There is an immense psychological impact to these business owners,” said prosecutor Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Christopher Shull. “Many of these small business owners spend more time at work than they do at home, so the sense of being violated is absolutely real.”