PORT ANGELES — Bail has been set at $30,000 for a Port Angeles man accused of making a bomb threat to Peninsula Behavioral Health.
Reed Stewart Martin, 66, was arrested Thursday for investigation of threats to bomb or injure property. Bail was set in a court hearing on Friday.
The Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will consider filing a charge at 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Port Angeles police alleged that Martin mailed a typewritten note to a specific Peninsula Behavioral Health (PBH) employee in May, saying there would be a “bomb in the building” every week for the next year because of his “lies.”
The letter was postmarked May 18 and had no return address, Officer Whitney Fairbanks said in the affidavit for probable cause.
“You will be responsible for there [sic] deaths should have said the truth lying can’t correct you [sic] carelessness,” the letter was alleged to have said.
The alleged victim told police in a May 21 interview that Martin had filed a complaint against PBH last October. The employee replied in a letter to Martin saying PBH had made every attempt to assist him, Fairbanks said.
Fairbanks learned May 22 that an Olympic Medical Center (OMC) psychologist and two OMC Sleep Center physicians had received similarly-worded, typewritten letters from an anonymous sender.
One of the sleep physicians recalled being worried about Martin and calling 9-1-1 about him, Fairbanks said.
A State Patrol detective who lives in Martin’s neighborhood east of Port Angeles told police that Martin had “acted oddly” and would send letters to other neighbors, Fairbanks said.
The detective, who reported Martin as suspicious in a call to dispatchers last September, said that an anonymous letter had been sent to the State Patrol office in Seattle in 2016 accusing the lawmen of stealing from drug dealers, Fairbanks said.
Police served a search warrant at Martin’s residence Thursday and found a typewriter and numerous notes with references to Olympic Medical physicians and PBH as “being the source of his problems,” Fairbanks said.
Michele Devlin, Clallam County chief criminal deputy prosecuting attorney, requested $50,000 bail for Martin at his first court appearance Friday. Devlin based her request for bail on community safety concerns.
“It is pretty disconcerting in this day and age to have such a threat,” Devlin said of the letter to PBH.
Defense Attorney Alex Stalker of Clallam Public Defender argued for no bail or a reduced bail of $1,000.
Martin appeared to struggle to understand the court proceedings Friday, looking to Stalker as Superior Court Judge Christopher Melly read him his rights.
Stalker said the probable cause statement gave no indication that Martin had the desire, willingness or capacity to follow through on his alleged threats to PBH.
“While certainly receiving a (threatening) letter, if true, would make someone feel unsafe, I don’t think there’s any actual risk of danger to the community, which is what the court is supposed to consider under that prong,” Stalker said.
“Frankly, I’m not sure what his current mental state and such are, but he doesn’t seem like he’s really up to the task of mixing bombs at this point based on what has been described.”
Stalker added that Martin is a longtime Clallam County resident with limited criminal history and limited income.
Melly said he shared Devlin’s concerns for community safety, setting an “appropriate” bail of $30,000.
“Not only did you allegedly make threats of weekly bombings at Peninsula Behavioral Health, but when a search was conducted it’s alleged that they found at your home some notes indicating you blamed most of your health problems or whatnot on a few individuals at that place,” Melly told Martin.
“So the fact that you’re now identifying individuals as opposed to the organization causes the court some concern.”
The FBI and Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team assisted Port Angeles police in the investigation, Deputy Chief of Police Jason Viada said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
