Sunnyside not on hook for attorney fees in forfeiture case, court rules

A drug forfeiture case stemming from the Parkland Homes shootout in 2005 has come up for air on appeal.

At issue is whether the city of Sunnyside should have to pay attorney fees for improperly seizing cash and a car in the aftermath of the shootout, which left two dead and three others wounded.

The Division III Court of Appeals in Spokane ruled 2-1 Tuesday the city was not on the hook since it had not been forced to return the bulk of the cash that was seized in the case.

"We do not believe (the Legislature) intended to allow forfeiture claimants to recover attorney fees unless they prevailed on all the major issues in the case," Judge Kevin Korsmo wrote for the majority.

The decision was published by the court, meaning it sets precedent unless overturned by either the Washington State Supreme Court or at the federal level.

The incident took place June 28, 2005 at the trailer park on Parkland Drive in Sunnyside.

Five men conducting a drug deal inside a trailer suddenly pulled their weapons, exchanging as many as 80 shots at almost point-blank range. All five men were wounded, and two later died. The trailer had so many bullet holes in the walls that it was reportedly condemned as uninhabitable.

Five kilos of fake cocaine were found at the scene, as was a stack of cash totaling $57,990 -- the street price of five kilos of cocaine.

Police also seized another $9,300 found in the pocket of Jesus Jaime Torres, a 24-year-old from Pasco who was one of the two men killed in the shooting. They also seized Torres' 1997 BMW, which was parked outside the trailer.

Lorena Contreras, the mother of Torres' son, eventually sued for the return of the car as well as the cash.

Last year, Yakima County Superior Court Judge James Gavin ordered Sunnyside officials to return the BMW, saying Torres' son had a valid "innocent owner" exception to the car.

The judge also ordered the city to return the $9,300 found in Torres' pocket, saying the city had not proven that that portion of the cash was linked to the drug deal.

However, Gavin ruled that the $57,990 "buy money" was not part of Torres' estate because it was clearly used in a drug deal that had been consummated just before the shooting began.

The Court of Appeals would not accept the case for review on the forfeiture issues. It did, however, accept the case on the issue of attorney fees.

The majority ruled that Contreras' attorney, Todd Harms, was not owed attorney fees under a legal standard known as "substantially prevails" because the city got to keep the biggest chunk of money.

In a dissent, however, Chief Judge John Schultheis questioned the vagueness of the standard and pointed out that Harms technically prevailed on two of the three items at hand.

In an interview Wednesday, Harms said claimants in forfeiture cases usually can't afford a lawyer and that compensation in the form of attorney fees serve the public's interest.

As a result, he said he might ask the state Supreme Court to review the case. "Had this been a federal case," he said, "attorneys fees would have been granted."

No charges were ever filed in connection with the shootout. None of the surviving participants asserted a claim to the buy money.