Man Charged in Sequim Check Case Freed on Personal Recognizance Over State's Objection

A 47-year-old man walked into the Sequim Police Department July 16 to ask for a gas card from its human services fund and left in custody, according to a probable cause certification filed in Clallam County Superior Court.

Andy Kim, listed in charging papers at a Kent address, now faces three felonies: possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, second-degree theft, and forgery. 

He is out of custody, and his arraignment, already reset twice, is set for 1 p.m. Friday before Judge Elizabeth Stanley.

The Charges

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Steven P. Johnson Jr. filed the criminal information on July 21. It accuses Kim of possessing methamphetamine with intent to deliver on or about July 16, a Class B felony carrying up to 10 years in prison, and, on or about July 10, of second-degree theft of more than $750 and forgery involving a check. 

Both are Class C felonies carrying up to five years, a $10,000 fine, or both.

The arrest certification listed more crimes than the State charged, among them first-degree theft of a combined $6,465.57, six forgery counts, and criminal conspiracy. Jail records list six booking charges, including conspiracy.

What the Police Report Says

The investigation began July 14, when Sequim Police Officer Taran Johnson took a fraud report involving the US Bank branch at 101 W. Washington St.

An account holder said a friend had asked for help depositing a check said to be from an aunt's East Coast trust fund, for a man who could not deposit it himself and needed tire money.

They met in the bank parking lot July 10. The check, for $960, was allegedly drawn on an Idaho woman's US Bank account and made out to an 88-year-old Neah Bay woman for "home services." 

Kim allegedly added the account holder's name to the pay-to line before handing it over, the certification says. An ATM accepted it, and $800 in cash, the maximum withdrawal, went to Kim.

The next day a $1,920 check tied to Capital One cleared the ATM, though its routing number did not match the bank's, Johnson wrote. By July 13 the account was flagged: one check had bounced, the other was refused as altered, and the funds were removed.

The Arrest and Search

A sergeant detained Kim when he arrived on July 16. He allegedly waived his rights and said he had forged blank checks supplied by a man in Bremerton, writing in the amounts and names himself, the report states. He denied stealing them.

Kim also described buying up to an ounce of methamphetamine at a time and occasionally selling some to friends or acquaintances, Johnson wrote, and said he lost most of the check money gambling at 7 Cedars Casino and spent the rest on tires and repairs.

Judge Simon Barnhart signed a warrant for Kim's phone and car. Inside were four altered or forged checks, bank cards in other people's names, an expired ID belonging to the Neah Bay woman, and a lunchbox holding pipes and baggies of a white crystalline substance Johnson identified as methamphetamine from training and experience. 

He also seized unused baggies, metal shims, and scales with residue, some from the back seat and trunk. The substance and its packaging weighed 158.78 grams, about 5.6 ounces.

Two Hearings, No Plea

Jail records show Kim was booked at 8:54 p.m. July 16 and released at 2:26 p.m. July 21.

At the July 21 hearing, Judge Brent Basden addressed a potential conflict involving attorney Joseph Wolfley, who agreed, and said court administration would find Kim a new public defender. Kim then addressed the court on his release conditions.

Judge Basden released him on personal recognizance over the State's objection, warning that a warrant would issue if he did not appear in person. 

Kim's new conflict counsel appeared July 24 and said he had not yet spoken with Kim or read the probable cause statement. He asked for another week, which Basden granted.

Kim has not entered a plea.