A Whidbey Island man previously found passed out and naked after breaking into a pot shop was again discovered committing a crime in the nude, this time burglarizing the Penn Cove Brewery in Coupeville Oct. 19, according to court documents.

After he was arrested, 32-year-old Richard L. Martin wreaked havoc in the Island County jail and in court by being uncooperative, unruly and threatening staff members.

The inmate’s behavior is not an anomaly, according to Jail Chief Jose Briones, and illustrates the many challenges that jails face. Nowadays, about 80% of the jail inmates have mental health or substance abuse problems, or often both, he said.

“The days of jail being filled with gangsters and bank robbers are long gone,” he said.

At the jail, Martin refused to leave his cell to attend a preliminary court hearing over video Thursday. Inmates usually “attend” court hearings from a video room set up at the jail library.

The hearing was delayed until the next day as the judge and prosecutor discussed the need for a possible “drag order” to physically force the man to the hearing. The jail chief said Martin again refused to attend the hearing Friday, but corrections deputies were eventually able to talk him into going.

Briones said the Island County jail serves as a model in the state. The facility has a very low use-of-force rate because of the training that emphasizes communication, deescalation and patience. The small jail has a multi-disciplinary team that provides treatment for medical, mental health and substance abuse problems.

Nonetheless, Briones said some inmates present difficulties.

Martin wasn’t on his best behavior at court. Four corrections deputies surrounded him during the hearing, but he still became unruly. Deputies placed a spit hood over his head and held him in his chair during the remainder of the hearing.

Judge Christon Skinner found probable cause exists to believe Martin committed the crimes of burglary in the second degree and malicious mischief in the third degree.

The judge agreed with the prosecutor’s recommendation and set Martin’s bail at $25,000. The judge ordered that Martin must be evaluated by a mental health professional for possible commitment to a treatment facility before his release.

Yet Skinner also noted that a state mental health professional previously evaluated Martin and found that he was competent to stand trial. The report from a 2022 burglary case states that Martin likely suffers from schizophrenia and a serious drug abuse problem, but that he meets the legal criteria for competency.

A deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office noted in his report that he spoke to Martin on Oct. 18 after staff at WhidbeyHealth Medical Facility in Coupeville reported “a suspicious person looking in the windows of the labor and delivery room.” The deputy warned him to stay away from the hospital.

A hospital official, however, acknowledged that an individual outside the labor and delivery unit had been asked to leave, but there was no possibility of him looking into windows from where he was seen.

Before 2 a.m. on Oct. 19, the deputy responded to an alarm at the brewery and found clothes strewn about the courtyard. According to his report, he discovered that a fire extinguisher had been thrown through a second-story window. He was able to follow bare footprints in the fire extinguisher chemical on the floor.

The deputy found Martin hiding inside a small cubby space, the report states. Martin was naked and his hands were bleeding. Martin continuously threatened the deputy and “everyone else” while he was transported to the hospital for treatment of his wounds and then to jail.

In September 2022, deputies responded to a break-in at a Freeland pot shop and found Martin naked and semi-conscious inside. In that case, Martin also refused to go to court and the prosecutor took the unusual step of obtaining an arrest warrant for Martin while he was in jail.

Last year, Martin was convicted of burglary in the second degree and sentenced to a year and one day in prison, according to court documents.

Martin was out of prison by April 28, 2023 and was again arrested after threatening a security manager at Payless Foods in Freeland, according to court documents.