Despite his protestations and a jury's inability to reach a verdict, Gabriel Dean Watters is viewed by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez as someone who saw Hurricane Katrina as "an opportunity to make a buck."

Mendez is persuaded that Watters unlawfully acquired vehicles that had been submerged in the floodwaters that engulfed New Orleans in the aftermath of the 2005 storm, brought them back to Sacramento County and sold them to unsuspecting buyers.

But the jury could not unanimously reach that conclusion. Watters, operator of a Rio Linda tow truck company, was found guilty only of using a bogus receipt purportedly reflecting his purchase of four vehicles in a failed attempt to throw the feds off the scent.

On Tuesday, Mendez sentenced the 34-year-old Watters to three years and one month in prison, more than twice the term urged by defense attorney Mark Reichel, but nine months less than Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Steven Lapham wanted.

The phony receipt was "the most poorly executed crime ever," Reichel told the judge. "It was written in pencil, the name of the dealership was misspelled, and the cars were not stolen in the first place."

But Mendez made it clear he was not going to ignore the evidence backing up charges of conspiracy, interstate vehicle theft, and the sale or receipt of nine stolen vehicles. When the jury deadlocked on those 19 counts, the judge declared a mistrial.

Lapham told the judge Tuesday he does not plan to retry Watters on those charges, but said he will not ask for their dismissal until Watters reports in August to begin serving his time.

Watters was accused but not convicted of traveling to the devastated New Orleans area in late 2005 and early 2006 and acquiring multiple vehicles that had been lost or abandoned by the owners and were severely water damaged. He was alleged to have restored them, transported them to his Elverta home, attempted to obtain salvage titles for many of them, and sold some of them.

Reichel insists his client did only what many others did; he got the vehicles out of the way and the city was actually grateful for that. The defense lawyer also says some of the people who bought the cars from Watters are still driving them.

Lapham scoffs at Watters' version.

"The defendant's life evidences a complete disregard for the rules of civilized society and contempt for law enforcement," the prosecutor told Mendez.

"What I'm most angry about," Lapham said, "is that, around the same time he was carrying out the scheme for which he was charged, he was conducting an illegal tow operation that victimized more than 200 people. His tow truck drivers trolled Sacramento and Placer counties, unlawfully removing vehicles from private property. Owners had to pay him hundreds of dollars for towing and storage – which he demanded in cash – to get their cars back."

Watters was never prosecuted for the latter scheme.

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