A Port Hadlock woman is being held in Jefferson County Jail with bail set at $20,000 after being charged with two counts each of theft and unlawful issuance of bank checks. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Autumn Paluck, 20, was arrested April 1 and arraigned in Jefferson County Superior Court April 7, after an investigation by Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) Deputy Brandon Przygocki that began in the latter half of March, according to a JCSO April 1 probable-cause report.

In the report, Przygocki outlined how he corresponded March 20 with Ryan Lammers at Hadlock Building Supply and Mark Walters at Olympic Equipment Rentals, each of whom allegedly received two checks from Paluck March 14, with non-sufficient funds (NSF).

Przygocki further reported that he interviewed Paluck March 24, during which she expressed the hope that she would receive a tax return check of nearly $4,000 to cover the funds she knew she did not have in her account, according to court documents.

April 1 was a busy day for Przygocki, according to the probable-cause report, as he spoke with the owner of the Joy Luck Restaurant in Port Hadlock about another NSF check Paluck wrote March 11.

District Court Judge Jill Landes granted Przygocki a search warrant for Paluck’s bank account that same day. In the probable-cause report, Przygocki wrote that he found Paluck’s balance was $856.50 in the red starting March 1, with 34 NSF checks that took it to a negative balance of $10,367.79 by March 31.

Przygocki reported that he arrested Paluck April 1 after interviewing her a second time, when she again admitted to knowing there wasn’t money in her account.

Paluck was charged with theft in the second degree (for other than a firearm) and unlawful issuance of bank checks (for a series of transactions over $750) for her NSF checks to Hadlock Building Supply, Olympic Equipment Rentals and Joy Luck Restaurant, adding up to $2,911.55.

Two probable-cause statements were then filed by the Port Townsend Police Department April 2, with Quimper Mercantile reporting an NSF check from Paluck for $667.83 March 14, while Henery Hardware reported NSF checks from Paluck for $605.21 Feb. 28 and $601.19 March 1.

The Quimper Mercantile check yielded additional charges of unlawful issuance of a bank check (for a single check of less than $750) and third-degree theft.

The court calendar currently has Paluck slated for a status hearing April 21, an omnibus hearing May 5, a pretrial hearing May 26 and trial dates running June 5-6.