A 64-year-old Oak Harbor Home Owners Association president is facing a felony charge after allegedly writing a false junk vehicle affidavit in August, according to court documents.
Prosecutors charged Timothy Bertch in Island County Superior Court on Oct. 1 with forgery. He’s scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 28.
Bertch declined to comment.
Oak Harbor police received a call on Aug. 20 from a Christian’s Towing employee referencing a junk vehicle affidavit. After the employee checked the vehicle identification number, the car returned as possibly stolen.
When Officer Eduardo Hernandez ran the vehicle, he found it was not stolen, but the name on the form did not match the owner of the vehicle. Beyond that, something else seemed odd about the affidavit.
According to the report, the affidavit listed two officers, one of whom hadn’t been with the department for months. The document included a signed officer’s name with a badge number that belonged to a separate officer who also had not been with the department in over a month.
Bertch also put his own phone number on the form.
When Hernandez called, the report notes that Bertch’s voice was shaky and rapid. Hernandez asked Bertch to describe the officers who signed the affidavit.
Bertch joked, “You guys all look alike with the uniform.”
Hernandez then passed the case along to Detective Sgt. Gravel. When Gravel called, Bertch told her the situation was “handled.” Gravel told him she believed that he had altered the paperwork and asked him how many times he had done it.
Bertch said just the once.
“I know it’s not you guys’ favorite thing,” he said. “I thought I would expedite the process. I thought I was saving your time.”