by Rob Ollikainen
Olympic Peninsula News Group
Richard Lee Hedrich has been sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to 10 felony property crimes, the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney announced.
Hedrich, 27, of Sequim, pleaded guilty to four counts of residential burglary, two counts of theft of a firearm, two counts of forgery and single counts of first-degree identity theft and first-degree theft for a series of crimes that occurred between November 2015 and June 2016, court records show.
Single counts of first-degree theft and first-degree trafficking in stolen property were dismissed as part of a negotiated plea agreement, according to the minutes of the sentencing hearing.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Erik Rohrer on July 19 imposed the sentence that Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Steven Johnson recommended.
Rohrer denied a request for a reduced sentence as part of a Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative or DOSA.
Hedrich was charged in November 2015 with residential burglary, first-degree theft and trafficking in stolen property.
Clallam County Sheriff’s Detective Brian Knutson developed probable cause that Hedrich broke into a Sequim-area house that was under construction and took more than $10,000 worth of high-end kitchen appliances and lights and tried to sell them, according to the affidavit for probable cause.
While out on bail, Hedrich participated in the burglaries of three more homes where multiple firearms were stolen, prosecutors said.
Investigators alleged that Hedrich left a stolen wallet at the scene of one of the burglaries in an attempt to frame the owner of the wallet.
Most recently, Hedrich was charged June 10 with two counts of forgery for taking outgoing mail from a Sequim-area mailbox and forging checks that had been written to pay bills.
Prosecutors said the check-forging scheme resulted in the false depositing of more than a dozen checks totaling more than $5,000.
Hedrich was being held at the Washington Corrections Center near Shelton.
He will be on probation for one year after his release from prison and will be liable for restitution to the victims, prosecutors said.
Rob Ollikainen is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
