Former Woodland mayor charged with 15 felonies for theft, destroying public records

The former Mayor of Woodland is charged with 15 felonies in Cowlitz County Superior Court for allegedly stealing around $10,500 from his wife's former employer and destroying public records while in office.

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Will Finn, who previously served as a Washington State Patrol spokesperson, is scheduled to make his first appearance on July 15.

His wife, Heather Finn, is also charged with two felonies - first- and second-degree theft - and has her first Cowlitz County Superior Court appearance scheduled for the same day.

The charges, filed Tuesday, come after two investigations by area sheriff's offices in 2024: one for theft by Cowlitz County detectives, and the other for deleting public records by Thurston County investigators.

The Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney Jonathan Meyer is handling the cases.

Will Finn

Finn

The charges

Michann Bond, owner of short-term rentals in Woodland, accused both Will and Heather Finn of misusing a debit card that belonged to the business.

Bond alleged the Finns, both age 48, made unauthorized purchases, including for groceries, dog food, vacations and restaurant bills.

The company debit card was issued to Heather Finn, not Will.

Will Finn is also accused of deleting public records from a city-issued cell phone he used while serving as the mayor of Woodland from 2016 to 2023.

The contents of the phone are considered public record because he was using the device for city business as an elected official.

In 2024, Woodland City Clerk Amanda Hougan told authorities she attempted to fulfill a public records request that involved Will Finn's work phone but discovered the device had been factory reset, and any data connected to the phone was gone.

Will Finn also gave authorities a USB drive that he said included his saved work phone's data. However, a police report on the case states there is no way to confirm if all of his work phone's data was transferred to the device.

Will Finn's charges include first- and second-degree theft, as well as injury to public record and 11 counts of second-degree identity theft.

Previous state investigations

This is not the first time Will Finn has come under scrutiny for unauthorized personal expenses.

A 2024 report from the Office of the Washington State Auditor outlined ways the former mayor misused his city-issued credit card, though he was not charged with a crime for the transactions.

The report does not name Will Finn directly, but the audit timeframe overlaps with his tenure as mayor. The report states that the former mayor made $3,965 in personal purchases between March 2022 and November 2023, but the city had recovered only $3,385.

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