A Powell man is facing a growing stack of charges that allege he entered multiple homes while under the influence of drugs in late December.

Powell police and prosecutors initially charged Adam Lynn with three misdemeanor drug offenses, but they upgraded one count to a felony last week and added new misdemeanor charges of criminal entry. The 32-year-old now faces a total of five counts. His bond — which had originally been set at $500 — was upped to $20,000 on Thursday.

Over the course of Dec. 28 and 29, Lynn walked into multiple homes and garages, Deputy Park County Attorney Laura Newton said Thursday in Park County Circuit Court, adding that, “Really, I mean, it was a home invasion.”

Newton referenced one “really disconcerting” instance, in which she said Lynn entered a residence on Wood Street and surprised the homeowner, her children and her husband.

“That’s why we’re pretty surprised that he didn’t get shot in Wyoming,” Newton said, arguing Lynn’s actions posed a “major community safety concern.”

When given an opportunity to respond, Lynn offered that, “I’m a risk more to myself than I am anybody else.”

Lynn has been held in the Park County Detention Center since Dec. 29, but has yet to appear on the jail’s public roster on inmates; that indicates authorities at some point placed a so-called Title 25 hold on Lynn. Those holds are used when an individual is believed to pose a threat to themselves or others as a result of mental illness.

“I wasn’t trying to hurt anybody,” Lynn said in court.

Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah said he understood, but if Lynn entered someone’s home without permission, “it could have been a bad situation,” the judge said. “And it’s scary for people when that happens.”

The judge sided with Newton and set Lynn’s bail at $20,000 cash or surety. It means Lynn would need to pay at least $2,000 to go free while the case is pending.

The case against Lynn has unfolded at an unusually slow pace, and Newton indicated it’s still developing.

Powell Police Department logs say it began when a Wood Street resident called police on the afternoon of Dec. 28, reporting that a man was “wandering around, knocking on doors asking for help.”

“He didn’t appear to be making sense,” the resident reported. 

Responding officers found Lynn in the area, cited him for allegedly being under the influence of meth and gave him a ride home.

But police arrested him the following evening, after the same resident reported that Lynn had walked into her house and frightened her; the woman and her children were resting on the couch and “shocked” when the stranger walked in, her husband told the Tribune. He said the man was slow to leave.

Responding Powell Police Officer Isaac Gutierrez found Lynn at a nearby residence on Avenue K, standing on the porch.

“I asked the male what his name was and he seemed to be staring off into space,” Gutierrez wrote in an affidavit. The officer said Lynn explained that “he was told the individuals at this residence needed help,” but he couldn’t explain what they needed help with.

Lynn eventually admitted to having recently used meth and marijuana, the affidavit alleges, and he was taken into custody. Lynn was charged with misdemeanor counts of possessing a controlled substance and using a controlled substance.

He made his first court appearance Jan. 2, and Darrah set his bond at $500, cash or surety. In an oversight, Lynn didn’t make his first court appearance on the earlier citation in late January, causing him some confusion about the “new” charge. Lynn also was unclear about his bond, indicating he’d mistakenly believed it’d been set at $5,000 rather than $500.

As of the Jan. 30 hearing, Lynn had spent over a month in jail and he asked to be released on a signature bond. However, with Newton mentioning the possibility of additional charges, Darrah instead raised Lynn’s bail to a combined total of $1,500, cash or surety.

Newton followed up almost immediately, dismissing the charges related to Lynn’s Dec. 29 arrest and filed new and revised charges: a felony count of possessing a controlled substance (in this case, marijuana) for a third or subsequent time, two misdemeanor counts of criminal entry and two misdemeanor counts of using a controlled substance (meth and marijuana).

At Thursday’s hearing on the new charges, Newton noted that Lynn was previously convicted of felony possession in 2019 — it eventually resulted in him receiving a two- to four-year prison sentence — along with several other criminal convictions.

Lynn said that for the first time in his life, he’s recognized he needs to seek help. He expressed dismay about “how crazy things have gotten.”

“... I want to show everybody I’m willing to make a change …,” Lynn said, adding that he was in the process of seeking treatment before his arrest, when he “just kind of ran into a little mental lapse.”

Darrah said he was “encouraged” by Lynn’s desire to get help, and indicated he might be willing to lower the defendant’s bond in the future to facilitate treatment. However, “for now, this is the best I can do under the circumstances,” the judge said of the $20,000 figure. That bond is on top of a $1,000 figure for the still-pending Dec. 28 charge.

If Lynn makes bail, he will need to stay away from the properties he allegedly entered and those residents, among other conditions.

In the meantime, Newton said she’s still receiving more evidence and information from Powell police, indicating she plans to file additional charges.