Tim Eyman charged with misdemeanor theft; attorneys call chair's removal from store an accident

Six days after store surveillance video captured anti-tax crusader Tim Eyman wheeling a chair out of an Office Depot in Lacey, city prosecutors on Tuesday filed a misdemeanor theft charge against him.

In response, Eyman’s attorneys quickly issued a news release and statement from their client, contending the entire episode was an honest mistake caused partly by Eyman receiving a phone call that distracted him after he returned to the store to pay for merchandise and services.

“I did not, shortly after giving legislative testimony in Olympia, walk into an Office Depot in Lacey wearing a bright red `Let The Voters Decide’ t-shirt, smile for the cameras, and steal a $70 chair just moments before spending $300 on 2 printers and after getting some life changing good news,” Eyman said in the statement issued by the Puget Law Group. “The reason that doesn’t make any sense is because it doesn’t make any sense. It’s ridiculous, it’s insane, it’s completely unbelievable.”

Lacey City Prosecutor Joseph Svoboda filed one count of theft against Eyman early Tuesday in Thurston District Court. The alleged offense, a gross misdemeanor, carries a maximum of 364 days in jail and/or a $5,000 fine. An arraignment hearing had yet to be scheduled Tuesday afternoon.

Read more: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/eyman-charged-with-misdemeanor-theft-attorneys-call-chairs-removal-from-store-an-accident/