A 56-year-old Everett man arrested on Camano Island on Christmas Day 2023 was operating a mobile identity theft operation out of stolen vehicles and had victimized approximately 383 people located across four countries and 16 states, the Island County Prosecutor’s Office alleges in a motion.
Stephen C. Countryman appeared in Island County Superior Court this week after being arrested on a bench warrant. At the recommendation of the deputy prosecutor, Judge Carolyn Cliff set his bail at $150,000, which is an unusually high amount in a non-violent case. Furthermore, the judge specified that if Countryman tried to post bail, he must provide an affidavit identifying where the money came from.
Prosecutors’ proposed amended charges against Countryman consist of one count of possession of a stolen vehicle, four counts of identify theft in the first degree and 17 counts of identity theft in the second degree. The prosecution is also alleging aggravating circumstances which could lead to a sentence above the standard range of 63 to 84 months in prison.
A deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office came upon a truck parked in the roadway on Camano Island on Christmas. The driver, Countryman, said he had driven the truck from Texas for a friend. The deputy, however, discovered that it was stolen from U-Haul out of Boise and that the license plate was just a printed piece of paper, according to a report on the case.
After obtaining a search warrant, investigators discovered a trove of documents inside the truck, including licenses, vehicle registrations, passports and other items used to steal people’s identities, according to the prosecutor’s motion for an order revoking pre-trial release. In addition, they found tools for manufacturing fake IDs and blank checks.
Detective Michael Sadler with the Island County Sheriff’s Office spent four months going through the documents, contacting victims and obtaining banking and other records, the motion states. The detective’s extensive report describes how identify thefts had turned victims’ lives upside down, with some still struggling to regain normalcy.
Countryman posted bail in January but allegedly continued to commit crimes. In January and February, he went to a casino on seven different occasions and fraudulently passed himself off as another man, obtaining at least $11,800 in cash, the motion states.
In April, Everett police officers pulled Countryman over for driving a Hummer with expired tabs. The officers found two “very well made” fake IDs on him, according to court documents. The officer noted that Countryman was well known to Everett police and has an extensive identity theft history.
