PORT TOWNSEND — A Port Townsend resident pleaded innocent Thursday to the charges of malicious mischief in the first degree for disabling five police cars earlier this month.
Port Townsend police officers arrested Andrew Staritzky, 33, on Dec. 13 in connection with the slashing of tires on cars parked outside the police station.
The property damage to police vehicles exceeded $1,500, County Prosecuting Attorney Juelie Dalzell said.
Staritzky was apprehended after police officers inside the station heard the sound of air whooshing from the slashed tires.
Officers came out of the building and saw Staritzky standing up from the rear of a disabled police car, a police report said.
During Staritzky’s arraignment on Thursday, Superior Court Judge Craddock Verser set the trial date for Jan. 7 and agreed to a request for a mental health evaluation.
The judge ordered Staritzky to undergo evaluation at Western State Hospital in Steilacoom after friends and relatives expressed their concerns over the defendant’s mental health.
