Report possible violators to the License Investigation
Unit by calling 360-449-7975.
For several reasons, few stops made Friday morning by Washington State Patrol troopers situated around Illahee Elementary School and Shahala Middle School resulted in tickets, but the coordinated sting delivered a clear message: License cheats, beware.
The recently revived License Investigation Unit took to the streets in the east Vancouver neighborhood around the two schools to show media and a local lawmaker how it plans to identify — and ticket — Clark County dwellers with Oregon license plates.
Equipped with maps and a list of about 40 possible law violators, the troopers parked their cars just off 192nd Avenue and coordinated the sting by radio when a car with out-of-state plates entered the school parking lots with a child and left without one.
Patrolling near schools is ideal, said Trooper Bob Wollnick, who participated in the sting.
“It’s one of those areas where you see a lot of cars,” he said. “If you live in Washington and your kids go to school in Washington, why would you have Oregon plates?”
The answer, in most cases, is you wouldn’t — and you shouldn’t.
“This is how we pay for schools, roads and everything else,” Rep. Jim Moeller, D-Vancouver, said of the Washington sales tax and license fees some drivers are avoiding when they license their cars elsewhere.
The investigation unit was resurrected on July 1, about a year after it was shut down. Moeller, who rode with Trooper Steve Schatzel on Friday, co-authored the bill that restored funding to the program.
Schatzel said he made two stops and wrote one ticket while the Democratic lawmaker rode shotgun.
The temporarily reprieved driver was given 10 days to get his vehicle properly licensed. If he fails to do so, he’ll be mailed a $1,122 ticket for living in Clark County and having out-of-state plates.
Warnings are given from time to time, Sgt. Randy Hullinger said, because “receiving a ticket is not the best way to get it taken care of.”
But a ticket is exactly what Heremelinda Cruz, 34, of Vancouver got when she was pulled over near the intersection of Southeast 192nd Avenue and Westridge Boulevard. Cruz’s Ford minivan had Oregon plates.
“She’s a classic,” said Sgt. Thomas Butsch, noting Cruz bought and licensed her car in Oregon, even though she has lived in Washington for more than a year. “She admitted the reason she didn’t do it is because she couldn’t afford it.”
As he handed her the $1,122 ticket, he said she broke into tears.
“A judge will adjudicate,” Butsch said. “In certain situations, they’ll let them plead to a different crime. Hopefully they’ll do that here.”
Wollnick made two stops and attempted to talk to a third driver he followed into the parking lot of The Home Depot. The woman had Oregon plates on her silver BMW but hadn’t previously made the WSP database of possible license cheats. The out-of-state plates alone didn’t constitute reasonable suspicion of a crime, and the woman adhered to the rules of the road as Wollnick followed her along Southeast First Street, meaning the trooper could only talk to her if she complied voluntarily.
She didn’t.
“She didn’t want to talk to me,” he said, returning to his car as the woman walked into the home improvement retailer. “That’s usually a bad sign.”
Wollnick sent her license plate number over the radio airwaves so she could be added to the rolls. With the help of public records, the next time a trooper happens across the woman’s silver Beemer, they’ll know if she’s been bad, good or protected by a grace period.
If a driver moves to Washington from another state, they’re given 30 days to visit the state Department of Licensing. The grace period is 90 days for a Washington resident who buys a car out of state.
The state patrol investigates Clark County residents who commit deliberate license fraud to avoid sales-and-use taxes and fees. These folks typically buy cars or motor homes in Oregon and give salespeople bogus addresses, claiming they live in Oregon. That’s a gross misdemeanor that can lead to stiff fines.
In total, WSP estimates at least 20,000 vehicles in Clark County are improperly licensed south of the Columbia River.
Said Assistant Chief Curt Hattell: “It’s only right that people who are using Washington’s schools and roads should have to pay their fair share.”
Bob Albrecht: 360-735-4522 or bob.albrecht@columbian.com.
