The second of three men arrested for the break-in at Fat Smitty’s restaurant on Thanksgiving Day reached a plea deal with prosecutors and has admitted his guilt in the crime.

Spencer Aaron Schenk, 25, changed his pleading to guilty Friday, Dec. 18 and admitted entering Fat Smitty’s to steal cash off the walls.

“He’s ready to accept responsibility,” said Noah Harrison, his lawyer.

Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Ashcraft said the plea deal “strikes a good balance for all parties here.”

Harrison said Schenk was young and homeless and didn’t have a lot of options at the time of the crime.

“He has a drug problem; he’s had it for a long time,” Harrison said.

The scheme to steal from Fat Smitty’s wasn’t a sophisticated one, he added.

“They were no masterminds,” Harrison said.

Schenk was facing a prison term of 51 to 68 months for second-degree burglary and up to 364 days for third-degree theft, plus a parole period of 12 months of community custody.

The maximum sentence for second-degree burglary is 10 years and $20,000 in penalties.

Schenk wanted to take responsibility as soon as possible, Harrison added, and get help for his substance-abuse issues.

“That’s exactly what he’s done,” Harrison said. “He’s determined to do right.”

Superior Court Judge Keith Harper agreed to the bookends of the plea deal, and sentenced Schenk to 29.75 months in prison for second-degree burglary.

Under the plea agreement, Schenk received a prison-based drug offender sentencing alternative (DOSA).

That put his prison sentence at one-half of the midpoint of the standard sentencing range for the crime of second-degree burglary, or
12 months, but whichever was greater.

The DOSA deal means Schenk will have to undergo a comprehensive substance-abuse assessment plus a requirement to undergo treatment. Parole will also be set for the same time period: 29.75 months. 

He was given credit for time served — 22 days — on the third-degree theft charge.

Harper suspended the sentence of 364 days — 342 days plus the time Schenk’s been in the county jail — for two years.

Harper said he would follow the agreement tendered by both sides.

“Good luck, Mr. Schenk. I hope this works for you,” Harper said.

Schenk, of Bremerton, was arrested Nov. 25 along with Michael Duwane Smith, 34, of Port Orchard, and Daniel Richard Schwartz, 25, of Bremerton.

CASH AND DASH

The three men were accused of pulling dollars destined for charities off the walls at Fat Smitty’s in Discovery Bay during an early morning break-in Thanksgiving.

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

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said the eatery has been burglarized three times this year, and the most recent break-in — and the second in November — was discovered after an alarm went off at 1:55 a.m. on Thanksgiving.

The three men were arrested after a sheriff’s deputy saw a white sedan heading east on Highway 104 south of Discovery Bay just seven minutes after dispatchers alerted officers to the burglary.

Police believed suspects from the earlier burglary at Fat Smitty’s had fled to Kitsap County, and the deputy following the sedan noticed the driver was making suspicious and evasive maneuvers to get away from the deputy as he was trying to catch up to the fleeing vehicle.

The sedan pulled off Highway 104 onto Garten Road, about a mile west of the Hood Canal Bridge, then parked in a driveway, according to a probable cause report filed in the case.

A man and woman got out of the car and walked toward the deputy, and the driver told the officer he didn’t have a license.

Police determined he had been cited previously for third-degree driving with a suspended license, and was wanted on felony warrant from the Department of Corrections. 

The man, identified as Smith, also had a misdemeanor warrant for assault, as well as a restraining order, and was quickly put into handcuffs.

Another man got out of the car, soon identified by police as Schwarz, who said a third man was still in the vehicle but was sleeping in the back seat.

CAUGHT ON VIDEO

At the same time, two deputies were at Fat Smitty’s reviewing a surveillance video of the break-in, and told the deputy who had found the sedan that they could see three men inside the restaurant, and one was wearing track-style pants that had a large white stripe down the side.

The last man to get out of the vehicle, according to court records, was Schenk, who was wearing track pants with a large white stripe on them.

Deputies determined Schenk had a suspended driver’s license, as well as previous felony convictions for residential burglary.

Schwartz was also wanted on a warrant, deputies learned, and police said he eventually gave a statement in which he admitted breaking in to Fat Smitty’s with the other two men.

A deputy who had reviewed the video at the restaurant came to the scene where the men were being detained, and said the trio appeared to be wearing the same clothes as the burglars in the restaurant video, and they also physically matched the suspects.

It appeared the burglars had gotten into the restaurant by going through a window that had been covered with plastic after the previous break-in, which was discovered at about 3 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13.

Schwartz gave one of the deputies a bunch of $1 bills from his pocket that were allegedly stolen from the walls of Fat Smitty’s.

The woman who was found in the same car as the men denied any involvement in the break-in, but she was taken into custody after deputies discovered she was wanted on a Kitsap County warrant for possession of stolen property.

Deputies found a blue sweatshirt on the floorboard in the back of the vehicle. A wad of wrinkled dollar bills could be seen hanging out of the front pockets.

Police also could see drug paraphernalia inside the sedan.

Schenk, Smith, and Schwartz were arrested for burglary, theft, and malicious mischief and booked into Jefferson County Jail just after 3:30 a.m. Nov. 26.

BAIL REQUEST DENIED

Schenk was the second man in the crime to reach a plea deal with prosecutors over the break-in.

Schwartz changed his pleading Dec. 11, and the charge of third-degree theft was dismissed.

Harper sentenced Schwartz to nine months of confinement in the Jefferson County Jail.

LAST TO FACE JUDGE

Smith — the third man charged in the burglary at Fat Smitty’s — also appeared in Jefferson County Superior Court Friday.

Richard Davies, his attorney, had asked the court to allow Smith’s release so he could take care of pending charges in other courts.

Smith has missed a couple court dates in Mason County and now has a warrant for his arrest, Davies said. Smith also has legal troubles waiting for him in Kitsap County.

Davies suggested a transfer order to release him from custody in Jefferson County, or reducing Smith’s bail from $75,000 to $50,000.

“His plan is to take care of the other matters and return to this court to face the music,” Davies said.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Julie St. Marie opposed Smith’s release, and noted the extensive history of warrants being issued for his arrest.

Smith currently is wanted on a $20,000 warrant in Kitsap County, she added.

In a video link from the jail, Smith pleaded with the judge to allow him to make his court dates elsewhere.

“I understand I have 19 cases,” Smith said.

“I have family members that have credit that have put up to bail me out,” he said, adding that he has made his other court appearance outside Jefferson County.

“I understand my actions and what I’ve been charged for,” Smith added. “But all those pending charges ... I’ve made it to those court dates. I have not ran. I don’t plan on running.”

“I understand how it looks. I’m a criminal. I get it; I apologize,” he said.

Smith said he hoped to see his 4-year-old before the child turned 18.

“My actions are no good and I understand that,” Smith said. 

“It’s almost Christmas. I’m looking at 10 to 15 years for these charges. I understand my charges and I apologize,” he said.

The judge denied the request for release or a lower bail.

“You’re an extremely high risk to not show up,” Harper said.