PORT TOWNSEND — A man who pleaded guilty to second-degree identify theft has been sentenced to a residential drug offender sentencing alternative.
Richard Lee Daniher, 42, will undergo 90-day inpatient treatment for methamphetamine use disorder under a plea bargain finalized Friday in Jefferson County Superior Court.
In exchange, charges against Daniher were dismissed with prejudice, meaning they can’t be re-filed for the same crimes.
Daniher pleaded guilty before Superior Court Commissioner Stephen W. Gillard on Nov. 15 to second-degree identity theft, unlawful possession of a payment instrument and possession of meth.
Each is a Class C felony, punishable by a maximum of five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.
Daniher was facing a standard range for identity theft of 17 to 22 months before he qualified for the residential drug treatment program, court documents state.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Julie St. Marie was concerned about Daniher being released to the community since his inpatient date doesn’t begin until Dec. 2 in Chehalis, but her motion to continue the sentencing hearing was denied by Superior Court Commissioner Eileen Baratuci.
The court will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday on Friday, and the following week would push sentencing out beyond Daniher’s inpatient date, Baratuci said.
Defense attorney Richard Davies amended the agreement to require Daniher to report to outpatient treatment prior to Dec. 2.
In a screening to determine eligibility for the sentencing alternative, Gabbie Caudill, a substance use disorder professional from Believe in Recovery, wrote in a document filed Wednesday that Daniher has a severe amphetamine-type stimulant use disorder.
“Mr. Daniher reports that speed is his weakness, and he likes to go fast,” Caudill wrote.
The report states Daniher’s self-assessment was that he “can’t continue to use methamphetamines and be the father he wants to be” and that “his whole life revolves around using meth.”
Daniher previously completed a month-long treatment in Bremerton in 1998 and a 45-day treatment in 2016 in Spokane, the assessment said.
It also said Daniher hasn’t worked full-time since 2017.
The report details Daniher’s self-reported substance use history that started with alcohol when he was 13 and advanced to cocaine and oral hallucinogens through his teenage years.
He self-reported no alcohol consumption since 2014, but he said he’s smoked and injected methamphetamine for the past six years.
“Mr. Daniher reports that his children were once everything to him, and now he has no relationship with them,” Caudill wrote in the assessment.
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Jefferson County Managing Editor Brian McLean can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 6, or at bmclean@peninsula dailynews.com.
