FAIRMONT — A Rochester man is facing felony charges in Martin County.

Ryan Patrick Bartz, 37, has been charged with violating a no contact order and domestic abuse. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

According to the complaint:

On Dec. 25, a Fairmont police officer spoke with a woman who explained she had a domestic abuse no contact order and order for protection against Bartz, which the officer later confirmed.

The woman said that on Dec. 25, a woman from United Methodist Church came to her apartment with presents for her and her daughter on behalf of an inmate at the Martin County Jail. She said there also was a letter included with the gifts that she believed to be from Bartz.

The officer observed the letter, which appeared to be a document provided by the church to determine where a gift should be sent by someone who was in jail. In the area of the document where the applicant was supposed to write the name of the person to receive the gifts, the applicant wrote the name of the woman’s child and the woman herself. Where the woman’s name was written, the applicant also wrote, “Pregnant with Child.”

On the document, the applicant put the child’s relationship as his “step child.” The woman indicated to the officer that only a few people knew she was pregnant and that Bartz should be the only person in the jail who would have known about it.

The officer reviewed a different case file in which Bartz was alleged to have sent, while in jail, postcards to the woman and her child. The handwriting from the postcards matched the handwriting on the application from the church.

A check of Bartz’s criminal history shows a conviction for terroristic threats in July 2016, and a conviction for terroristic threats in July 2017. Both convictions are qualified domestic violence-related offense convictions.