PORT ANGELES — A Sequim man is facing forgery charges for allegedly taking outgoing mail from a mailbox and forging checks, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said.
Richard Lee Hedrich, 27, was charged June 10 with two counts of forgery. He pleaded not guilty at arraignment Wednesday and faces an Aug. 15 trial in Clallam County Superior Court.
A Carlsborg resident reported May 24 that outgoing mail had been taken from his home mailbox on Solar Lane, court papers said.
Two checks that the man had written to pay bills were altered and deposited into a KeyBank checking account, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The name Richard Hedrich had been forged over the names of the intended recipients of the checks, according to the affidavit for probable cause.
The amounts were changed on the checks. Originally made out for a combined total of $65, the stolen checks were altered and the alleged victim’s bank account was charged $650 for the two checks, court papers said.
Photographs
Sheriff’s Detective Brian Knutson obtained a series of photographs of a man depositing the altered checks May 21 and May 22. The photos were provided by a KeyBank financial crimes investigator.
“The photos clearly show a male, whom I recognized as Richard Hedrich, at the Sequim Key bank ATM to deposit the forged and stolen check [on May 21],” Knutson wrote in the arrest narrative.
“There are no other persons at or near the ATM during the transaction. Also in the photo is Richard’s truck which Richard has previously admitted to using during the commission of other felonious crimes.”
Hedrich was convicted in 2013 of first-degree theft and possession of a stolen firearm.
He has six felony cases pending in Clallam County Superior Court.
Hedrich was charged last November with single counts of residential burglary, first-degree theft and first-degree trafficking in stolen property.
He was charged March 23 with one count of residential burglary in three separately filed cases.
He was also charged April 7 with three counts of forgery for allegedly altering checks.
Hedrich posted a $15,000 bail bond April 21, court records show.
He was arrested June 9 for investigation of the new charges. He was being held Thursday in the Clallam County jail on $50,500 bail.
The Sheriff’s Office said there have been other victims of similar mail theft and fraud incidents in Clallam County where outgoing mail was taken and checks meant to pay bills were stolen.
Mail theft is a recurring problem in rural counties, the Sheriff’s Office said.
“We would encourage you to mail your outgoing mail directly at a post office facility or postal drop box,” the agency said in a Wednesday news release.
“If you receive your mail at your residence, a locking mail box is strongly advised.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
