An Oak Harbor man has been cited for first-degree criminal trespassing and third-degree malicious mischief after he smashed windows at a Port Townsend home and took a ladder from a shed on the Clay Street property in an attempt to get into the second story of the house.

The 30-year-old is an active duty member of the Navy, according to the Port Townsend Police Department, and was drunk at the time of the attempted break-in.

Port Townsend police were called to a suspected burglary in progress in the 1900 block of Clay Street at 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 6.

A resident at the home called 911 dispatchers to report that someone had been banging on his front door  and had just broken a window.

The resident also said he opened the door and called out but did not see anyone, but soon after told dispatchers he could hear more banging on the side of the house as well as another window breaking.

Police and county sheriff’s deputies responded to the call, and a Port Townsend officer saw the intruder holding a ladder, then lie down to avoid being seen.

An officer pulled out a Taser and the man was quickly placed in handcuffs.

The man “had an intense odor of alcohol emitting from his person and was very unsteady on his feet,” according to the arresting officer’s report, and he “admitted to consuming quite a bit of alcohol.”

The man was identified by his military ID and a Florida driver’s license. A test for alcohol had a reading of 0.264.

He could not explain why he was trying to get into the home, according to the police incident report, and “admitted to violating someone’s personal space and property.”

He also said he was sorry, and the arresting officer wrote: “It was my perception that he had something going on in his personal life that he was not alluding to because he kept talking about his career in the military and his marriage.”

The man then said he wanted to talk to a lawyer and all questioning stopped. He was taken to Jefferson General Hospital for jail clearance and for treatment of the injuries he had from smashing the front-door window of the home.

The police investigation showed he first tried to get into the home by attempting to force the front door open, then smashing a window in the door to get inside.

When that didn’t work, police said he went into a small, unlocked storage shed on the west side of the home and took out several things before pulling a ladder out.

The man was booked into Jefferson County Jail Feb. 6 and was criminally cited on trespassing and malicious mischief charges in Jefferson County District Court the following day.

Conviction of either charge can result in a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.