A Port Hadlock man was arraigned for second-degree malicious mischief and third-degree theft in Jefferson County Superior Court following his arrest late last month on suspicions of damaging a mailbox in an effort to get at money from the sale of eggs that had been left inside.

Lonnie Allen Korhdt Sr., 50, was booked into Jefferson County Jail on Aug. 28.

Police were called after a resident on Eaglemount Road came home with his family just after 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27 and found a black Subaru Forester parked in front of their mailbox.

The man — who had been seen by a neighbor several weeks earlier hanging around the same mailbox — was later identified as Korhdt.

The resident told 911 dispatchers that he confronted Korhdt, who claimed he was only there because he was “looking for his wallet.” Korhdt then got back into the Subaru and drove away, the resident told authorities.

A deputy contacted the resident and then inspected the mailbox, which had damage on a lock that appeared to be from someone who tried to drill through it. Fresh drill holes were also found on other areas of the mailbox, as well as damage from a pry tool.

The resident told the deputy he had just checked his mailbox about an hour earlier, before his confrontation with the man in the Subaru, and there was no damage.

The witness also said someone had tried to drill through the back door of the mailbox on July 8, and someone had seen a black Subaru Forester nearby, according to court documents.

The resident noted, as well, that the mailbox was used for people to leave money for eggs they bought from the man’s farm.

The man later provided a deputy with 41 photos that had been taken by trail cameras he had set up after his mailbox had been damaged earlier.

In the photos, Kohrdt could be seen pulling up, getting out of his Subaru with tools in his hands, and standing next to the mailbox.

When Kohrdt was questioned later, he said he had parked next to the mailbox for about 30 minutes while he searched for his wallet, which he said he had lost in the car somewhere. He denied damaging the mailbox or trying to steal its contents.

A deputy noted the photos from the cameras did not show him emptying anything from his vehicle during the search for his wallet, which the deputy noted “a reasonable person searching their vehicle for a small object like a wallet would do.”

“I don’t believe it took Kohrdt 30 minutes to search his Subaru Forester for his wallet without emptying the contents of the vehicle to do so,” the deputy said in his probable cause report.

Kohrdt entered a pleading of not guilty to the charges during his arraignment in court Friday.

His trial was set for Oct. 24.