‘Wild Card’ pleads guilty to charges

There will be no trials for Brett “Wild Card” Card, who pleaded guilty for failing to register as a sex offender and a Gold Bar burglary in late March, and is now serving a 1 ½ year prison sentence.

The Forks man, who identifies himself as a “Career Criminal” on his Facebook page, spent his 27th birthday in the Snohomish County Jail in late January, and was transferred to a Washington State Department of Corrections facility in Shelton earlier this month.

Card first landed on the community’s radar when a string of home burglaries was reported in and around Gold Bar starting in November. Jewelry and small personal items were usually taken.

An 18-year-old man, who had already met Card, was home during one of the burglaries; the house was not secure at the time.

Card had just been released from a 30-day stint in jail in October for failing to register as a sex offender. He was convicted of third-degree child rape in 2015, which in Washington is when a person has sex with someone at least two years younger — between the ages of 14 and 16 — and was sentenced to 27 months of confinement and 36 months of community custody.

Card was not confronted while in the occupied home, and ran out once he was discovered by the homeowner’s son.

Gold Bar Police Chief Dave Casey said prior to Card’s arrest he could not be certain the man was not dangerous. He advised the community not to engage Card if they crossed his path.

The burglaries continued into January. The same strategy was used in most, but Casey said he later found proof that at least one burglary was not committed by Card, because a witness in that case identified a different suspect.

Card knew law enforcement was looking for him. He contacted his fiancée in Forks, and other people in that area, and asked them to call in false leads. He planned to hop a train out of Washington while law enforcement was distracted with misinformation.

The situation fueled frustrations among the Gold Bar community. Resident and former Gold Bar City Councilmember Chris Wright spearheaded the formation of the Sky Valley Community Watch Dogs group. Its members work together to keep more eyes on criminal activity. Wright said Card’s presence was a final straw for people.

“It is everything — it is the burglaries, it’s the dope,” Wright said in January. “It’s the general fact that if you leave something in your yard, someone is going to take it.”

Things took a turn for Card in mid-January.

He jumped in the river when he thought police had caught up with him, losing his remaining dry clothes and food.

Card took shelter in a Gold Bar trailer on Jan. 11. Casey received a Crime Stoppers tip that day from someone who knew where Card was sleeping.

The police chief requested a group of Snohomish County Sheriff’s deputies from the Gold Bar Police Department, and they had the trailer surrounded within an hour; Card did not resist arrest.

Casey said Card looked haggard, “pretty down and out,” and was asleep when they found him. Card told Casey fleeing from police was one of the greatest rushes he had experienced. He admitted to the one burglary upon his arrest, according to court records.

He told Casey he had worked for the homeowner in that burglary and also sold her meth, but she hadn’t paid for either. Card sold her jewelry he stole, but would not tell deputies to whom.

The burglaries stopped once Card was in jail. Two cases were ultimately filed against Card. After entering a guilty plea in each, he was sentenced to 17 months for failing to register as a sex offender and 19 months concurrently for the burglary.