Stolen items included $44,000 worth of lithium batteries

An Oregon City man who broke into a Tualatin robotics company — stealing $44,000 worth of lithium batteries, a riding lawnmower and other items — has been sentenced to five years in prison.

On May 2, a Washington County jury found Nicholas James Richmond, 37, guilty of two counts of first-degree burglary as well as first-degree theft, first-degree criminal mischief, first-degree aggravated theft and four counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. 

The charges stem from Jan. 29, 2024, when Tualatin police discovered someone had broken into a locked refrigerated trailer and a separate shipping container belonging to the company. 

In addition, investigators found a cutting torch they believe had been used to gain entry into the trailer, causing $1,000 in damages.

“The victim located a Facebook MarketPlace post advertising the sale of one of the stolen batteries and alerted police,” said a Washington County District Attorney’s Office news release. “Investigators set up a meeting with the seller. When she arrived, she had three of the stolen batteries with her. She told detectives that her husband and the defendant were concealing the stolen equipment at a storage facility.”

Later, investigators found a storage facility near the defendant’s house and discovered he was renting a unit there. After obtaining a search warrant, 12 of the missing batteries were discovered. 

Investigators also found multiple guns in the defendant’s truck. A convicted felon, Richmond wasn’t allowed to possess firearms. 

Police said they also found deleted photos of the stolen lawnmower on his cellphone. 

Sentenced in front of Judge Andrew Erwin a week after his conviction, in addition to prison time, Richmond was ordered to pay more than $57,000 in restitution to his victims.