PORT TOWNSEND — A 38-year-old Port Townsend man facing charges connected with a series of North Olympic Peninsula and Kitsap County mail thefts entered a not-guilty plea in Jefferson County Superior Court.
Adam Justin Lysiak, charged with 12 counts of second-degree possession of stolen property and one count of possession of stolen mail, appeared on a video screen from the county jail in Port Hadlock while his attorney, Ben Critchlaw, entered the plea Friday on his behalf.
Lysiak has been held in jail in lieu of $250,000 bail since his arrest Feb. 12.
Lysiak’s trial is set for April 15-18 and April 22-28, but Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chris Ashcraft said he hopes a plea settlement will be reached.
“When there are that many charges, it doesn’t make sense to go to trial,” said Ashcraft, adding that other charges probably will be brought forth when the investigation by the Port Townsend Police Department is complete.
1,000 theft victims
Officer Luke Bogues, who is heading that investigation with Detective Jason Greenspane, said that after two weeks of sorting the evidence, the department identified 1,000 victims of mail theft.
It could be days or weeks before those victims are contacted, Bogues said.
Bogues said the sorting will not resume until Thursday as both he and Greenspane need to appear in court on another case.
“This has been tedious work and has been slow-going,” Bogues said.
Five local retailers — Safeway, Henery’s Hardware, Don’s Pharmacy, The Pennysaver and Westbay Auto — have filed complaints that they were victimized.
Apartment discovery
Bogues said the stolen mail found in Lysiak’s Port Townsend apartment is about evenly distributed from Jefferson and Kitsap counties, with a few other pieces from Clallam, Pierce and King counties.
Passports, credit cards and checks were found in the mail, Bogues said, and police confiscated several false licenses in various stages of development along with a printer and paper allegedly used to create the facsimiles.
Bogues filmed a public service announcement about the case that is viewable at www.cityofpt.us/PSA.htm.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
