Assessor Noble's longtime career ends in tears in courtroom

A day after he resigned as King County assessor, Scott Noble's fall from power to disgrace was complete.

Noble tearfully apologized in court Friday for a drunken, head-on crash on Interstate 5 that injured him and two women. He was then was sentenced to eight months in jail.

King County Superior Court Judge Michael J. Fox, who sentenced Noble, will allow him to serve his time under work release. Noble will also serve one year's probation.

The former assessor struggled to hold back tears, and wept as he apologized.

"I'm very sorry for the injuries" to the women in the other car, he said. The victims did not attend the sentencing.

"It won't happen again," Noble said.

State Assistant Attorney General Melanie Tratnik recommended nine months in jail, the toughest sentence under the standard range for a single felony count of vehicular assault. Prosecutors dropped a second count when Noble pleaded guilty last month.

Tratnik said a long sentence was appropriate because of injuries to the women, Noble's "very high" blood-alcohol level, and the fact that he made a U-turn into oncoming freeway traffic.

Noble's attorney, John W. Wolfe, asked for three months of work release, saying he was "a distinguished public servant" with no previous convictions, was remorseful and had suffered severe physical injuries and loss of his office.

A retired Naval Reserve captain and a Democrat, Noble was elected assessor five times and held the office more than 16 years.

Noble, 58, acknowledged in a written statement to the court that he has been a recovering alcoholic for nearly 20 years and that he will attend a yearlong treatment program. Asked by the judge about his recovery efforts, he said, "The vast majority of time I was sober. I wasn't perfect."

Fox said he was troubled that Noble drank and drove, despite his drinking history. "There has simply got to be some recognition of the fact that we make choices," he said. "We make choices about taking the first drink if we have an alcohol problem, and we make a choice to get into a car."

Under work release, the former assessor will be allowed to leave jail during the day to work, but will spend nights behind bars. A memorandum submitted by his lawyers said he has lined up a new job, as a front-desk receptionist at a retail business.

Noble told the judge he plans to leave an ignition interlock device on his car "forever."

Noble was severely injured and the two women in the other vehicle suffered broken bones in the crash on I-5 in Federal Way early the morning of Jan. 18.

Noble's injuries were described publicly for the first time in court documents this week. A Harborview Medical Center physician said Noble was hospitalized from Jan. 18 to 27 and again from Jan. 31 to Feb. 8 for treatment of injuries to the small bowel, colon and abdomen; a large hematoma; and broken ribs and collar bone.

He was also referred to counseling for "post-traumatic stress symptomatology" and has had 23 physical-therapy sessions, according to court records.

After being released from the hospital, Noble telecommuted before returning to the assessor's office in March.

Blood drawn from Noble at the accident scene showed an alcohol level of 0.22 percent, almost three times the limit, the State Patrol reported.

State Trooper Eric Purcell put in his report that Noble had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath and that he said, "I don't know how much I had to drink; I had too much." After medics removed him from his SUV, Noble asked how bad the victims in the other vehicle were hurt, cried and apologized, the trooper wrote.

Noble resigned effective the end of the workday Thursday, turning his duties over to his chief deputy, Rich Medved. "He was a great assessor and now he's going to go into another phase of his life," Medved said Friday.

In waiting until this week to resign, Noble resisted requests from Medved and Metropolitan King County Council Chairman Dow Constantine that he quit by June 1 so a primary election could be held for his vacated office. Because he resigned later, a November election will be held without a primary.

Medved and Seattle Port Commissioner Lloyd Hara plan to run for election to the final two years of Noble's four-year term. A special candidate filing period has been scheduled for Aug. 19-21.

The County Council will appoint an assessor next month to serve until the election.

King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg's office, which represents the assessor's office in civil matters, asked the state attorney general to prosecute Noble to avoid a conflict of interest.

Noble was ordered to report to jail July 22.

Staff reporter Jennifer Sullivan contributed to this report. Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or kervin@seattletimes.com