Burglar of 15 years sentenced to 17.

Byline: Bill Bishop The Register-Guard

A longtime thief and burglar facing a 17-year prison term told a judge Monday that he wishes God would "reach down into the community and literally pick methamphetamine out of it and throw it away forever."

But investigators doubt that meth was the main motivation for 34-year-old Steven Ross Jackson.

For one thing, Jackson doesn't have the appearance or symptoms of a hard-core drug user, said Detective Bob Holland, a property crimes investigator for the Eugene police.

For another, Jackson's history of burglary runs back to 1990. He specialized in breaking open small safes stolen from homes and businesses. And he stepped up his illegal craft even after several arrests over the past year, Holland said.

When police searched his house, they always found a lot of stolen goods.

"I think he was a major fence," Holland said. `When you look at the total property, it would be hard for him to do it all by himself.'

Like any thief who commits no person-to-person crimes, Jackson ranked low on the inmate priority list at the Lane County Jail and was released soon after being caught so as to relieve jail overcrowding. He invariably returned immediately to thievery, Holland said.

"I have no doubt meth was involved," Holland said. `But he is by no means the meth (addict) he made himself out to be.'

Police got on his trail after he pawned stolen property at local stores. Local police agencies found themselves serving search warrants at his Eugene house on a regular basis, Holland said.

"Every week you went out there, you'd find new stuff - evidence of burglaries we didn't know anything about. He was dedicated to his craft."

Eventually, police could charge Jackson with 60 counts of theft, burglary, fraud, car break-ins and car theft. Jackson pleaded guilty to 34 counts in a plea deal that brought him a 17-year prison sentence on Monday.

Holland said Jackson never cooperated with police to resolve open cases or to identify other suspects. While Jackson stole hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of property, it's not clear what he did with the money, Holland said.

Among the stolen items police recovered at Jackson's home was a gas-powered scooter given to 14-year-old Scott Frank by his mother, Tami Frank, before she died of cancer in July 2002.

Frank, who attended Monday's hearing with his grandmother, Nola Fields, said he recalls the day the scooter disappeared from the garage.

"It made me feel like I did something really bad and it was taken away," he said.

When police returned it six months later, the wiring on the electric starter was torn up. But Frank got it fixed and said he is glad to have it back.

Another victim, Eugene resident Russell Ing, said he believes Jackson's unrepentant thievery shows he is no simple drug user.

"He's playing the system," said Ing, whose house has been burglarized three times in 10 years. He said he believes Jackson is part of a theft and burglary ring, which leaves homeowners vulnerable until the ring is broken.

"This thing is a huge ring," Ing said. `He needs to open up his books and break this ring.'

Because Jackson's sentence falls under sentencing guidelines, he is eligible for a reduction for good behavior. He could be out in 13 1/2 years.