Officer admits stealing; jail next

Published 10:18 pm Friday, November 16, 2007

LYNNNWOOD — He was a trusted police officer who for 24 years worked his way up the ranks of the Lynnwood Police Department.

Paul C. Watkins, 50, on Friday pleaded guilty to stealing from the police department and pocketing thousands of dollars seized during criminal investigations. Federal prosecutors say Watkins, one of the department’s deputy chiefs, abused his position of trust and obstructed justice when he threw out evidence.

“He will be going to jail,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Bartlett said.

Watkins faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 22 in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Bartlett declined to speculate on how much prison time prosecutors will request for Watkins.

The government will ask for the higher end of the standard range because Watkins tried to hide evidence of his crimes, Bartlett said.

Watkins was under surveillance the night before FBI agents were going to search his Everett-area home. The agents watched him load up numerous plastic garbage bags and toss them in trash bins around Lynnwood, Bartlett said. The agents following him collected the bags, which were full of shredded documents and evidence.

Watkins declined to comment as he left the courthouse on Friday.

He remains on paid administrative leave while Lynnwood police officials continue their internal investigation, police spokeswoman Shannon Sessions said. She declined to comment about Friday’s hearing. Lynnwood police employees are prohibited from talking about the case while it remains under administrative review, she said.

Sessions didn’t know when that investigation would be complete.

The criminal investigation was wrapped up in five months, underscoring “how important criminal investigations are to the U.S. Attorney’s Office when they involve public faith in the trust and integrity of our public officials,” Bartlett said.

Federal prosecutors believe that Watkins siphoned at least $95,000 in public funds. Most of the money was stolen while he was the commander of investigations and oversaw the department’s seizure and forfeiture of money and property in criminal cases. Between 2002 and 2005 he took cash from evidence lockers. Instead of returning the money to the owners, he kept it for himself, Bartlett said.

The majority of the cash was forfeited to Lynnwood and should have been deposited in the city’s bank account, Bartlett said. Some of the money belonged to people arrested during criminal investigations.

Investigators have spoken to a number of those people, some of whom are in jail, and they want their money back, he said.

Lynnwood Police Chief Steve Jensen did the right thing when he asked the FBI to investigate the theft allegations against Watkins, Bartlett said.

Lynnwood police officials discovered missing evidence during an internal review. They noted numerous occasions when money was seized during criminal investigations and turned over to Watkins for processing, but no forms were filed to document where the cash ultimately went.

According to the FBI’s affidavit, there were multiple instances found where no records exist to show the seized money was received by the police department, subject to a forfeiture hearing or returned to the owner.

Lynnwood police provided the FBI with documents, court records and statements also indicating that in 2002, Watkins may have stolen evidence from a 1996 robbery investigation, according to a search warrant affidavit. Police said Watkins took $14,046, several grams of what they believed was cocaine and two guns, and there was no record that the items ever were returned.

The plea agreement doesn’t address the stolen guns or cocaine. One of the guns was found in Watkins’ house. Bartlett declined to comment about the missing drugs.

As part of the plea agreement, federal prosecutors agreed not to charge Watkins with any other crimes the FBI discovered during the investigation, according to court documents. Snohomish County prosecutors also agreed not to prosecute Watkins as long as he paid back the $14,046 he stole from Lynnwood.

Watkins has had a history of financial problems, including seeking bankruptcy protection four times between 1987 and 2004. At one point, he faced a $10,000 lien filed by the Internal Revenue Service, according to court papers.

A check of Watkins’ financial records showed that he made “several suspicious cash deposits into his bank account,” according to court documents.

Mountlake Terrace Police Chief Scott Smith expects one of his officers, a friend of Watkins, to return to work in the coming days. She was placed on paid administrative leave after Smith learned federal agents interviewed her as a witness.

The officer was put on leave because of the stress of being subpoenaed to testify against her friend, who was the focus of a federal public corruption investigation, Smith said.

Reporter Jackson Holtz contributed to this report.

Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.