Several felony charges, including alleged sex crime, filed against Walla Walla man

A sex crime is among the seven charges that have been filed against a 41-year-old Walla Walla man arrested last week in connection to multiple incidents.

Joseph John Richter is charged with second-degree robbery, second-degree burglary and third-degree theft in connection to a Tuesday, April 14, incident.

He is also charged with indecent liberties with a victim incapable of consent, first-degree burglary, first-degree trespass and third-degree malicious mischief in connection to an incident on Wednesday, April 15.

Early in the morning of April 15, a 66-year-old woman reportedly woke up with an unknown man in her bed.

According to court records, the woman told police the man climbed into her bed assaulted her from behind. She originally thought it was her husband, who had been sleeping in another room.

When she realized it wasn't, she got out of bed and discovered the man was naked.

The man fled, and the woman and her husband called police.

According to documents, the man left some clothes behind, which were later matched to clothes worn by someone seen on security footage nearby riding a bicycle in the area. Officers reviewed the footage and recognized the man as Richter from previous incidents.

According to court documents, one day earlier, Richter is accused of stealing a bicycle from a carport on 12th Avenue.

The victim was at a gas station on ninth Avenue at the time, according to documents, and was alerted to the theft by his security system that recorded the incident.

As the victim was driving home, he encountered a man riding on the stolen bicycle. The victim told police he stopped his car and confronted the man. During that encounter, the man lunged at the victim but did not hit him. The victim fell backward to the ground, damaging his phone.

Later, the victim showed police the recording of the man stealing his bicycle, and officers recognized Richter, according to documents.

Richter was arrested at the synagogue in the 1200 block of East Alder Street on April 15 after an alarm at the synagogue alerted police to a break-in. Richter was found hiding inside.

According to the Walla Walla County Jail roster, Richter was in custody as of Thursday, April 23. His bail is set at $65,000.

Richter was arraigned and pleaded not guilty in both cases on Monday, April 20, in Walla Walla County Superior Court.

He is scheduled to return to court for a Friday, May 15, hearing. His trial for both cases is set for Monday, June 15.

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