Details Emerge over Oregon Man's Attempted Suicide, Fire

Feb. 22--On the day he tried to kill himself, David M. Powers left his wedding ring in his young son's bedroom, along with a life insurance policy and a note saying the money should go to his boy's education.

The stay-at-home dad from Northeast Portland, distraught that his marriage to an FBI agent was ending, had waited until she took their son to Oaks Amusement Park. He opened their safe and took out her handguns and extra magazines.

Powers drove her government car, a 2009 Dodge Charger, into their garage. There he poured gasoline in and around the car, which held his wife's purse, government credentials, ballistic vests and other gear. His plan was to set the Dodge on fire with a barbecue lighter, then shoot himself.

But the sudden combustion triggered an explosion that burned Powers' face, arms and hands.

What happened next on that afternoon last July remains hazy. Powers told investigators he tried to shoot himself with one of the handguns, but the weapon jammed twice. He told them the intensity of the blaze kicked him into survival mode before he could try again, court records show. A neighbor found him in the house and summoned rescuers.

Powers, 44, was hospitalized in a burn unit for weeks, then jailed for several days. Federal prosecutors charged him with arson of a U.S. government vehicle. Then last November, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge: destruction of government property.

On Friday afternoon, facing a potential 10-year prison term, Powers stood before U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon to say he was profoundly sorry.

"First and foremost to my son," he said.

Then, his throat tightening with emotion, Powers told the courtroom he loved his boy with his "whole heart." He also apologized to his friends, neighbors and family, more than a dozen who sat in the courtroom. They knew him as a loving dad who hadn't shared the depth of his pain with all of them. They hoped the judge would be lenient.

The U.S. Probation Office recommended that the judge send Powers to prison for two years. Powers' lawyer, Patrick J. Ehlers, asked the judge to sentence his client, who had never been in trouble with the law before, to three years of probation, and to make restitution and serve community service. A government prosecutor called for the same.

Lawyers noted that Powers had made full restitution of $28,707.65 to the government and $7,603 to his wife for repairs to the garage and her personal property.

Ehlers told the judge that his client was getting the mental health treatment he needed and was on the road to recovery. He noted that Powers and his wife had worked together so he could still take care of his son.

Now it was in the hands of the judge, who began by saying that it was clear that Powers' son needed his father.

"I'm glad your son has his father," Simon said.

He noted that Powers' fire had put lives at risk. Then he did something seldom seen in Portland's federal courthouses. He departed from all the sentencing recommendations before him.

He sentenced Powers to two years of probation and ordered him to perform 160 hours of community service.

"Mr. Powers," he said. "I wish you the best of luck, sir."

-- Bryan Denson