PORT ANGELES — A convicted thief who was out on $1,000 bail on charges of forgery and possession of stolen checks faces arraignment this Friday on four felonies related to a three-county string of mailbox thefts.
Michael Thomas Riley, 33, a Salt Creek-area resident, was apprehended Nov. 24 by Lower Elwha tribal police and incarcerated in the Clallam County jail for investigation of vehicle prowl and six other charges.
His first appearance in Superior Court was Monday on single counts of possession of stolen mail and third-degree possession of stolen property and two counts of second-degree identity theft.
Riley remained Friday in the Clallam County jail on $50,000 bail.
He faces up to five years each on the identity theft and stolen mail charges and up to 364 days on the stolen property count.
He had been out on $1,000 bail since Sept. 26 when he was arrested Nov. 24 for investigation of breaking a vehicle’s window. He allegedly stole rain gear, $200 in cash and a credit card later used to buy $186.50 worth of items from a local auto parts store, according to a probable cause statement.
Sheriff’s deputies searching Riley’s vehicle found a receipt from the auto parts store and items from the vehicle.
They found 66 pieces of mail, checks and prescription medication with other people’s names and addresses.
The mail, dating to October, contained addresses from Port Angeles and Sequim in Clallam County, Port Ludlow in Jefferson County, and Poulsbo, Kingston and Suquamish in Kitsap County.
A person is guilty of possession of stolen mail by possessing at least 10 separate pieces addressed to three or more different mailboxes.
Each group of 10 separate pieces of stolen mail addressed to three or more different mailboxes is a separate crime and is a Class C felony.
Riley was convicted in 2013 of first-degree theft, second-degree theft, trafficking in stolen property, injury hit and run and forgery, according to Clallam County Superior Court records.
He was charged July 9 with forgery and second-degree possession of stolen property in a case involving $675 taken from the bank account of a Port Angeles woman.
Under amended criminal information in the case, additional forgery and possession of stolen property charges were filed against Riley involving a check for $200 that was changed to $800 after it was stolen from a mailbox.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
