Fat Smitty's burglar given nine months in jail

Two others still face felony charges.

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One of the men arrested for the Thanksgiving Day burglary at Fat Smitty's in Discovery Bay has pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary.

Daniel Richard Schwartz, 25, of Bremerton, admitted his guilt in the break-in during an appearance Friday in Jefferson County Superior Court.

Schwartz and two other Kitsap County men —  Michael Duwane Smith, 34, of Port Orchard, and Spencer Aaron Schenk, 25, of Bremerton — were arraigned on charges of second-degree burglary and third-degree theft in Jefferson County Superior Court Dec. 4. All three entered pleadings of not guilty.

Customers at Fat Smitty's have long stapled dollar bills to the ceiling and walls of the iconic roadside restaurant on U.S. Highway 101, leaving the business wallpapered with legal tender that is eventually removed by volunteers and given to the Scouts or other causes.

The popular hamburger stand has been burglarized three times this year, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, and in the most recent break-in, intruders stripped dollar bills off the walls after they entered the business just before 2 a.m. on Thanksgiving.

A sheriff's deputy discovered Schwartz, Smith, and Schenk driving away from the scene of the crime less than 10 minutes after 911 dispatchers learned of the rip-off at the restaurant, and police allegedly found wads of dollars in the pockets of their clothes after they were pulled over near the Hood Canal Bridge.  

Schwartz changed his pleading Dec. 11, and the charge of third-degree theft was dismissed by Superior Court Judge Keith Harper.

Harper sentenced Schwartz to nine months of confinement in the Jefferson County Jail. He was also ordered to pay $500 to cover the costs of mandatory victim assessment, and the judge allowed Schwartz to make $25 monthly payments toward his legal financial obligations starting in September 2021. 

Schwartz faced a standard sentencing range of nine to 12 months for the charge of second-degree burglary. Court documents indicate he was sentenced in Kitsap County Superior Court for third-degree assault, possession of a controlled substance, and second-degree theft in 2016.

Schwartz has been in custody in the Jefferson County Jail since Nov. 26.