The three men accused of pulling dollars destined for charities off the walls at Fat Smitty’s in Discovery Bay during an alleged early morning break-in early Thanksgiving morning have all pleaded not guilty to burglary and theft charges.

The trio was found driving away from the scene of the crime less than 10 minutes after 911 dispatchers learned of the rip-off at the restaurant, according to court documents, and were arraigned on charges of second-degree burglary and third-degree theft in Jefferson County Superior Court Dec. 4.

Authorities said the alleged burglars all live in Kitsap County: Michael Duwane Smith, 34, of Port Orchard; Daniel Richard Schwartz, 25, of Bremerton; and Spencer Aaron Schenk, 25, also of Bremerton.  

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.

But 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 7 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. Smith also had a misdemeanor warrant for assault, as well as a restraining order, and 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.

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 also 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 also 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 of the shirt.

Police also could see drug paraphernalia inside the vehicle.

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

The three men all received court-appointed attorneys during a court appearance Nov. 30, and the trio appeared for their arraignment via a video feed from the jail Dec. 4.

Schenk was first to appear before Judge Keith Harper.

Noah Harrison, his attorney, asked for Schenk's bail to be lowered from $15,000 to $5,000.

"That's an amount that's commensurate with his indigent status," Harrison told the judge.

Harrison also said he had spoken Schenk about getting a drug and alcohol evaluation.

"He knows if he is released that is one of the first things he is going to do," Harrison said.

Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Ashcraft asked for the bail to stay unchanged, and noted that Schenk did not live in Jefferson County and also had multiple prior convictions for burglary.

Harper said Schenk had a number of convictions in Kitsap County. Still, he agreed to reduce his bail, somewhat.

"I'll set the bail at $10,000. I know that's not much of a decrease," the judge said.

"He's got a history, and a warrant, and no connections here other than to allegedly come here to commit a crime," Harper said.

Schwartz appeared next, and the continued talk of Fat Smitty's led Ashcraft to joke, "It's making me hungry for a bacon burger."

Schwartz grew up in Bremerton, attorney Ben Critchlow said, and has worked as a line cook most of his adult life.

He was laid off for COVID-related reasons, Critchlow noted, and was currently collecting workers compensation.

Harper noted bail for Schwartz was originally set at $10,000, the lowest of all three defendants.

"I'm going to leave the bail where it's at,” Harper said.

Richard Davies, the attorney representing Smith, said that while Smith did have a criminal history, most of it was dated "back in the oughts."

Bail had first been set at $75,000, and Davies asked it to be reduced to $25,000.

Ashcraft disagreed.

"He's got the most extensive criminal history of the fellows here," Ashcraft said. "He has like 10 open felony charges, including two felony eludes, and the second felony elude occurred while he was on conditions of release out of Kitsap County where he lives."

A quick count of his Smith's record, Ashcraft said, found at least 20 warrants had been issued for his arrest.

"He has a lot of criminal history in Kitsap County and doesn't show up there, and that's where he lives," he said.

Ashcraft added that the distance across the Hood Canal Bridge into Jefferson County wasn't as physically far as some defendants think.

"While it's not that far to Kitsap County ... sometimes that bridge appears to be a million miles long when it comes to getting defendants up here," Ashcraft said.

Harper agreed that Smith's criminal history was "quite remarkable."

“His bail will remain where it's at,” the judge said.

Harper set the trial date for all three of the alleged burglars for Feb. 1. 

The trial is expected to last four days.

Conviction of second-degree burglary can result in a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

Conviction of third-degree theft has a maximum sentence of 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.