OR- Man Sent Urine-Soaked Coins To Pay $206 Ticket

3-29-2009 Oregon:

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A Washington man tried to pay a traffic ticket by sending a plastic bag filled with $206 worth of urine-soaked coins to a county billing office, deputies said Wednesday.

Police said Mike Lynch was recently stopped and cited for speeding in a construction zone. Lynch, who lives in Bellevue, Wash., sent the money to Portland, but the $206 all came in coins that were soaked in urine inside the package, deputies said.

"That's something I can't wrap my mind around," said Sgt. Phil Anderchuk, of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office. "The thought process of acting consciously -- consummating the act of urinating in a box full of coins that someone is going to receive."

In a written response, Lynch said that, "doubling a fine because the infraction occurred in a 'work zone' where no one was working is unfair, at best." He said that he sent the money in urine-soaked coins as a political statement "to the unfairness of the situation."

Lynch didn't break any postal laws by mailing the combination of urine and change to the Multnomah County court. Postal officials said it is legal to mail urine or other bodily fluids as long as they are packaged properly in a way that doesn't leak or smell.

County employees said the package was wrapped tightly until it reached the courthouse mailroom and didn't smell until it was opened.

Because of a policy of only accepting up to $20 in change, court workers returned the money to Lynch. The county doesn't intend to pursue the matter, as long as Lynch pays the $271 in charges that now include late fees.

Jason Posner, who was visiting the courthouse Wednesday, said Lynch picked the wrong way to deal with the ticket.

"It would be better if the gentlemen had done something that diffused the situation and maybe mitigated it, rather than adding fuel to the fire," Posner said. ..News Source.. by Fox12