PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man is facing felony charges for allegedly breaking into a West End travel trailer while armed with a machete and demanding $5 from the owner, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said.
Charles R. Yaun, 45, was arrested Thursday for investigation of attempted first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary in connection with the Nov. 9 incident just outside Forks.
He is also being investigated for possession of a controlled substance for allegedly having 0.35 grams of suspected methamphetamine in his right front pocket when he was arrested near Port Angeles last week, deputies said.
Yaun was alleged to have entered a trailer at 1150 Perry St. near Forks without permission Nov. 9 and demanded $5 in gas money from the owner when he returned, Deputy David Fletcher wrote in the affidavit for probable cause.
Yaun allegedly threatened to break the owner’s personal property with the machete, Fletcher said.
The owner of the trailer told investigators that Yaun prevented him from leaving.
The owner, who broke a window of the trailer to yell for help, said he “feared for his life” during the encounter with Yaun, Fletcher wrote in the probable cause statement.
Clallam County Chief Criminal Deputy Brian King said Yaun had been picking mushrooms with the alleged victim and others prior to the Nov. 9 incident in the trailer.
An argument over money escalated into the alleged burglary and attempted robbery, King said.
Yaun, who had a felony bench warrant stemming from a possession of methamphetamine case filed in March, was arrested in a trailer on the 1400 block of West Lauridsen Boulevard near Port Angeles on Thursday.
A crystalline substance found in Yaun’s coin pocket tested positive for methamphetamine, deputy Brandon Stoppani wrote in an arrest report.
Bail was set at $20,000 for Yaun at his preliminary court appearance Monday.
“Mr. Yaun is no stranger to the criminal justice system,” said Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Michele Devlin, before listing off Yaun’s several felony and misdemeanor convictions. “He has three pages of warrants.
“This is over $5 for gas money and a machete was used to get that money.”
The Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s office will consider filing formal charges against Yaun at his next court appearance Wednesday.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
Reporter Jesse Major contributed to this report.
