Ruling Vindicates Ex-Trooper Wsp Had Claimed He Broke The Law When He Licensed His Rv In Oregon

An ex-trooper who wrangled with the state for two years over whether he broke the law by licensing his RV in Oregon does not owe the state back taxes and fees.

An administrative law judge has determined that retired Washington State Patrol trooper Pete Powell was no longer a Washington resident when he licensed a Country Coach motor home and a Jeep in Oregon in 1997.

Powell was the subject of an extensive WSP investigation after agency officials learned the one-time Spokane-based trooper had bought an expensive motor home and licensed it out of state.

The case split the ranks of the WSP Spokane office, with some people claiming Powell was being persecuted and others saying the investigation was proper. At one point, the detective investigating Powell locked her files in a patrol car and hid her notes in computer documents code-named for her cat.

A pair of troopers became the subject of internal investigations after siding with Powell.

“They were disciplined based on me doing something wrong, which, it’s now clear, I didn’t do,” Powell said.

Judge Anne Kreger, declaring the ex-trooper had legally severed his ties as a resident of Washington, tossed out an assessment by the state seeking $17,545 in back taxes and penalties from Powell.

“It’s nice, finally, to be officially vindicated,” Powell said. “Every once in a while, the little guy does win.”

Before passage of state Initiative 695, which will shave Washington vehicle fees to $30 beginning Jan. 1, licensing a vehicle in Oregon could save a driver thousands of dollars. Oregon has no sales tax and low license fees.

But licensing a vehicle in Oregon while still a Washington resident is considered fraud, punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 plus back taxes. State officials estimate as many as 100,000 vehicles that should be licensed in Washington are not.

Powell’s case was the subject of an August Spokesman-Review story that highlighted the complications between Washington and Oregon laws involving vehicle licensing. The story pointed out that when drivers sever ties to Washington and claim an Oregon residence for the purposes of licensing a vehicle, Washington tax authorities may still consider drivers liable for taxes and penalties here.

Determining when a person is no longer a Washington resident is often a judgment call made by the WSP and the Department of Revenue.

Those agencies can analyze everything from where a driver calls home to the location of clubs and organization he or she claims membership in. Ultimately, a case can be decided based on a “preponderance” of evidence - as little as 51 percent of the evidence.

Powell was investigated by a former colleague who photographed the RV parked in another trooper’s back yard in Spokane, learned Powell was receiving mail at his ex-girlfriend’s Spokane apartment and once saw the Jeep parked in a “tenants” section of a Spokane complex.

But Powell had sold all of his belongings, rented an RV pad in Bend, Ore., and obtained an Oregon driver’s license.

He spent much of 1997 and 1998 traveling the West, popping back into Spokane at times to visit friends and family.

While Kreger determined that “there were facts that properly warranted investigation,” she determined that much of the evidence supported Powell.

Powell maintains the investigation itself was a biased vendetta against him performed by a detective friendly with a Spokane commander he once helped oust.

Powell spent two years writing letters to lawmakers and WSP Chief Annette Sandberg, complaining about the investigation, and asked for a formal inquiry into the methods of Detective Tracy Hansen.

Sandberg wrote back that she supported the investigation.

Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker, who reviewed some of the case at Powell’s behest, acknowledged that the investigating detective appeared to have trespassed onto private property during her review. A WSP assistant chief even recently visited Tucker to see if his office would have trouble working with the WSP in the future as a result of the case.

Tucker insisted there’d be no problem, though “I certainly questioned some of their (WSP’s) techniques,” said Tucker, himself a former trooper.

WSP officials repeatedly have refused to comment on the case, and prohibited Hansen and other detectives involved from responding to media inquiries.

Department spokesmen were unavailable again Wednesday.