PORT TOWNSEND — Kevin M. Regester, 39 of Kala Point, died just days before he was to appear in court on robbery charges stemming from a May 6 incident where he allegedly held a knife to the neck of a taxi driver and stole her purse at the entrance to the gated Kala Point community.
Regester was arrested that night after being tracked down by the Jefferson County Sheriff Office’s police dog to a home in Kala Point.
He made a May 15 appearance, pleading not guilty to one count of robbery — which carries a 31- to 41-month sentence if found guilty — and was scheduled to appear again June 26.
However, Regester died June 22 of an unknown illness, which he was apparently suffering from before he was arrested, said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Scott Rosekrans.
Rosekrans said Regester fell ill while in the Jefferson County jail in Port Hadlock and was taken to Jefferson Healthcare hospital. He said he did not know that date.
“I don’t have the exact time line, but he had an incident at the jail in June that sent him to the hospital,” he said.
On June 19, Regester was released from custody and taken to Kah Tai Care Center by court order, where he later died, Rosebrans said.
“I think it was a pre-existing condition,” Rosekrans said. “To my knowledge, he had some serious health problems.
Rosekrans, whose office also operates as the county coroner, said he was unaware of any official cause of death.
Regester had no criminal history prior to this arrest.
At 12:55 a.m. May 6, a Peninsula Taxi Co. driver identified Regester to police as the man who, after she drove him to the entrance of the gated community, put a knife to her throat and demanded money, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
The driver told police that she gave the robber her purse and a pack of cigarettes, and he fled into Kala Point.
After being tracked by the police dog to a house in Kala Point, deputies contacted Regester’s mother, Donna Regester, who told them that her son was home and intoxicated.
She allowed deputies into the home, and they placed her son under arrest.
After acquiring a search warrant, deputies searched the home and recovered a knife suspected to have been used in the robbery and the purse belonging to the taxi driver.
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Reporter Erik Hidle can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at erik.hidle@peninsuladailynews.com.
