PORT TOWNSEND — Security measures at the Jefferson County Courthouse will be reviewed after an intruder broke in early Friday morning, County Administrator Philip Morley said Saturday.
The intruder attempted to break into a walk-in safe containing court documents, set two sheets of paper on fire — in a blaze that quickly extinguished itself — damaged a courtroom camera, and stole the scales from an antique “blind justice” statue in the judge’s chamber, Morley said.
The break-in occurred between 1:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. on Friday. It was reported by a janitor arriving for work at about 5:30 a.m., Morley said.
The courthouse — which is at 1820 Jefferson St., in Port Townsend — is the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office’s jurisdiction, Port Townsend Sgt. Ed Green said.
“We haven’t had anything to do with the investigation,” he said.
Phone calls requesting comment made to the sheriff’s office and Sheriff Tony Hernandez were not returned Saturday.
Morley said that no one has been reported to have witnessed the break-in.
There are no security cameras at the courthouse, he added.
He said that the building’s security measures will be evaluated.
“We always use these as an opportunity to think if there is anything we can do to help tighten security at the courthouse,” he said.
The burglar entered the courthouse by breaking a window to Morley’s ground floor office, the administrator said.
Morley said he was “just glad that more damage had not been done.”
He added that he hadn’t been notified of the monetary value of damaged and stolen property.
He said he knows that the burglar tried to break into the court’s safe because it locks in a certain way when the wrong password is entered.
“It just seemed like somebody was doing malicious mischief, and whether they were trying to get access to anything in the clerk’s office is possible but hard to know,” Morley said.
The glass security window on the door to the court clerk’s office also was broken.
Small fire
The intruder apparently set fire to a single-page phone directory and another page pinned with it to a cubicle wall.
The fire extinguished itself. The only damage was to the wall, which was partially burnt.
Morley said that the courtroom video camera, which is not for security purposes, was found on the floor.
The last time the courthouse was broken into was in December. The attempted burglary was foiled thanks to county workers making a routine check of the courthouse, Green said.
The courthouse, built in 1891 with the clock tower added the following year, has been in continuous use since it was built, and is the oldest such courthouse in the state.
The clock tower was shored up in a $2.4 million project finished in 2007.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
