2 members of burglary ring stole from over 100 Portland stores, officials say

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Two people from a local burglary ring have been indicted after stealing from over 100 local businesses in Portland, according to the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office.

Courtney Carlile, 27, faces 35 charges, including first-degree burglary, first-degree criminal mischief and second-degree theft. Meanwhile, Josh Lucero was indicted on 50 charges, including first-degree theft, first-degree aggravated theft and first-degree criminal mischief.

The thefts have all taken place within the last six months, officials said.

One of the businesses that was impacted was Artichoke Community Music, which is no stranger to break-ins, with the most recent one taking place in November.

"Guitar stores and music instrument stores are just soft targets. They're easy to fence. They're easy to just break in. Our security wasn't the best. We've upgraded that thanks to a lot of help from our community. They gave us a lot of good donations, and we've really enhanced what we have. So I think we're a lot more protected than we were," said Shelley Garrett from Artichoke Community Music. "Just watching them come in here and look at everything was heartbreaking."

Garrett says the local music business community is tight, and she's glad there's an update in this ongoing case.

Portland police say they are still investigating and are hoping to find more folks involved in the burglary ring -- the ring is believed to include more than 10 people.