City of Wenatchee v. Johnston

Raymond Johnston appeals his Chelan County District Court conviction on two counts of charging interest above the statutory pawnbroker transaction limit. The Superior Court affirmed; we granted discretionary review and affirm.

A Wenatchee city undercover detective contacted Mr. Johnston, owner of Ray's Pay-n-Save Auto Parts & Pawnbroker, on April 2 and 6, 1990. He told Mr. Johnston he wanted to pawn handguns. On April 2, the detective gave Mr. Johnston a handgun in exchange for $100. He redeemed the handgun 9 days later for $136.70, an additional 36.7 percent charge. On April 6, the detective…