EUGENE, Ore. (KMTR) -- A man involved in dozens of property crimes has been sentenced to more than two decades in prison.
Kevin Lee Black, 35, was arrested by Eugene Police earlier in the year charged with numerous counts of theft, burglary, attempted burglary, possession of burglary tools, ID theft and possession of meth.
Jennifer Curry, a detective for EPD, told NewsSource 16 they were able to track him because some of the items he allegedly stole from people had GPS devices on them. Almost time for trial, Black changed his plea suddenly from not guilty to guilty, thereby subjecting himself to a long prison term.
"This is a pretty common case where we recover a lot of property and we can't always identify victims," Curry said. "A lot of times that's because people don't know their serial numbers or don't have good pictures of jewelry so this is a good reminder to people that if your property is stolen: one, report it, and two, be proactive ahead of time."
A victim who contacted NewsSource 16 Friday said she believed Black targeted her after he saw her husband's obituary.
Black will now spend 25 years in prison.
