’Twas a week before Christmas, and a second man accused of impersonating a Salvation Army bell ringer was in court.
Jeffrey Scott Counts, who was previously charged with burglarizing a South Fair Avenue bodega and stealing lottery tickets, was ordered held in lieu of $10,000 bail. Yakima County Superior Court Judge Jeffery Swan said, based on reading the police report, that Counts had taken advantage of people’s good nature at the expense of The Salvation Army’s credibility.
“I just don’t know how lower we get when we’re stealing from The Salvation Army,” Swan said at Counts’ preliminary appearance hearing Monday. “I mean, what new low do you find when you start trying to impersonate people that are volunteering, trying to get money for those who are in need through The Salvation Army?”
Counts tried to object, but Swan told him to remain silent lest he incriminate himself in open court.
Counts, 51, and Jeremy Dean Kimbrell, 42, were arrested Dec. 5 outside the West Valley Walmart on suspicion of first-degree criminal impersonation, third-degree theft and third-degree possession of stolen property.
Yakima police spotted Kimbrell and Counts while doing a shoplifting emphasis patrol at the West Nob Hill Boulevard store. Recognizing Kimbrell and Counts from the South Fair Avenue break-in, officers arrested Counts in the parking lot and Kimbrell, who was wearing a Salvation Army volunteer’s apron and standing next to a kettle by the door for the earlier burglary, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Salvation Army Capt. Aaron Ruff confirmed that they were not volunteers, and that a pair of Salvation Army kettles, aprons and bells were stolen from two local Safeway stores that weekend.
Kimbrell, who appeared in Yakima County Superior Court last week, has been charged with first-degree criminal impersonation and third-degree possession of stolen property in the Salvation Army kettle case, in addition to the theft, possession of stolen property and claiming lottery prizes through deception charges.
Counts was on pretrial release on similar charges in connection with the lottery ticket burglary when he was brought in for his preliminary appearance hearing Monday.
Deputy Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Handy asked for $10,000 bail, noting that pretrial release “is not a good idea in this case.” He also cited Counts’ prior convictions in California, Virginia and Missouri.
Defense attorney Melissa Derry asked for pretrial release, noting that Counts was placed on it for the lottery case a day after the incident at Walmart. She said he’s not accused of a violent crime and that he’s responsible for caring for his mother.
But Swan said the bail was appropriate, noting that Counts’ actions had the potential for undermining public confidence in The Salvation Army’s kettle fund drive. He said people believe when they drop money in the kettle that they are helping the less fortunate.
When police arrested Counts and Kimbrell, there was $8.82 in the kettle, which was given to The Salvation Army, Ruff said in an earlier interview.
