A man from Sandy, Oregon has been sentenced to nearly two years in prison after admitting to stealing more than $65,000 worth of items from multiple self-storage units, prosecutors said.
Officials from the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office said Joseph Wayne Kautz, 43, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree aggravated theft.
Locks cut and replaced
Investigators said Kautz used bolt cutters to break the locks on several units at Northwest Self Storage in Sandy. After gaining access, he placed his own locks on the units so he could repeatedly return and remove property over about two months in spring 2025.
Prosecutors said the stolen property included a collection of antique pocket watches, jewelry, tools, snowboards and a wedding dress.
Among the items taken was a glass container holding the ashes of a renter’s deceased son, according to authorities.
Stolen goods sold at pawn shops
Officials said Kautz sold some of the stolen property at pawn shops in Gresham, Oregon and Portland, Oregon.
He is currently serving a 23-month prison sentence for violating parole in a separate case in Marion County, Oregon, where he had previously pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree assault, court records show.
The sentence in the storage-unit theft case will run consecutively to his current prison term.
Prior theft conviction
Court documents also show Kautz previously pleaded guilty in 2018 to first-degree theft for stealing a diamond ring valued at more than $1,000 from a Fred Meyer store in Tillamook, Oregon.
Leave a Comment