Ex-prison officer accused of mistreating his daughter is now suspected of identity theft

A former state corrections officer accused of mistreating his young daughter is now under investigation for writing bad checks at a Pasco grocery store.

Sethman E. Ouderkirk, 42, was arrested for allegedly shoplifting cigarettes and lighters from Yoke’s Fresh Market after the clerk refused to take his check.

A Pasco police officer looking into a separate check fraud at the same store was able to connect Ouderkirk to two bad checks passed earlier this month for groceries, according to court documents.

The store manager identified Ouderkirk as the man who wrote checks for $55 and $118 on May 5, documents said. Those stolen checks did not clear and had stop payments on them, which led Yoke’s employees to watch for other checks with the same names.

Ouderkirk appeared Friday in Franklin County Superior Court on suspicion of second-degree identity theft. His bail was set at $5,000 by Judge Cameron Mitchell.

Ouderkirk also had $250 bail for the shoplifting charge in Pasco Municipal Court. He was released from the Franklin County jail on Friday evening.

He previously had been out of custody since March 29, when he posted bond on $35,000 and got out of the Benton County jail.

Both Ouderkirk and his wife, Tierra Ouderkirk, are charged in Benton County Superior Court with first-degree criminal mistreatment and possession of methamphetamine. She also has a gross misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment.

A judge granted Tierra Ouderkirk’s release without bail on May 9. The couple are set for trial June 24.

Daughter’s medical care

Prosecutors in the Benton County case allege the parents failed to get medical care for their 3-year-old daughter when they knew she had a broken collarbone.

They were living in motel rooms and in their car when an adult relative questioned why they were waiting to get help for the toddler, who was in obvious pain, court documents said.

The relative finally took the girl to the hospital when the collarbone was sticking out.

Police in Richland and Kennewick reportedly had at least two contacts with the parents when their car was found in public parking lots in the middle of the night.

One time, the toddler was seen sleeping in her car seat while the officer noticed drug paraphernalia in the car, documents said.

The girl reportedly is currently living with relatives. Her parents have been ordered to have no contact with her while their cases are pending.

Coyote Ridge prison

Sethman Ouderkirk started working for the Washington state Department of Corrections in October 2012 as an entry-level correctional officer at Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Connell.

He last showed up to work toward the end of December 2018, and was classified as “leave without pay” after officials made several attempts to reach him, according to a Department of Corrections spokesman.

When he didn’t respond, the department began “due-process proceedings for his termination.” Ouderkirk resigned March 19 before he could be fired.

However, he claimed during a March court hearing that he had honorably retired following a 16-year career in law enforcement and was waiting for his retirement benefits to kick in.

Ouderkirk also claimed through an attorney that a caregiver had dropped his daughter and didn’t tell the Ouderkirks until later. He also claimed he had worked at Coyote Ridge until March.

Check fraud case

In the new case, Officer Jeremy Jones responded to the Pasco Yoke’s last week after a woman reportedly tried to pass a bad check for $123 worth of groceries.

A clerk noticed the check had the same name as a fraudulent check from May 5, and alerted a store loss prevention officer. The woman then ran from the store.

The owner of the checks reported the fraud earlier this month and said her checks likely were delivered to her old address on Topeka Drive in Richland.

Another suspect, Joshua J. Simmons already is charged with forgery for passing one of those Gesa credit union checks but in an interview with police, the Yoke’s manager identified Ouderkirk as the suspect who wrote the bad checks on May 5.

A few days later, a clerk confronted Ouderkirk again about a suspicious check and he ran out of the store with the cigarettes and lighters he was trying to buy, court documents said.

Employees knew who to watch for because of previous security footage of Ouderkirk shared with employees, documents said.

Store employees got the shoplifter’s license plate Wednesday night and it was Ouderkirk’s license plate, said investigators.

He was arrested at the Topeka Drive home on suspicion of the shoplifting.

Ouderkirk initially told Officer Jones he knew Simmons a little because he had stayed at the Topeka Drive home.

Then he tried to bargain with the officer, saying he would tell police everything and name the mastermind behind the bad checks if Jones would make the case go away, court documents said.

Jones said he wouldn’t do that, but was giving Ouderkirk the chance to tell his side of the story. Ouderkirk then denied knowing Simmons or anything about bad checks, documents said.