The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington continued to prosecute major criminal cases during the recent government shutdown, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Pete Serrano. The office maintained its efforts in addressing violent crime and offenses against children.
In Spokane, Dallas Michael Shuler, a former Riverside School District employee, pleaded guilty on October 15, 2025, to 12 felony counts related to online child exploitation. Court records revealed that Shuler was involved in hands-on sexual abuse of at least three minors and solicited sexually explicit material from dozens more through platforms like Snapchat. The charges covered exploitation involving 37 minor victims. Sentencing is set for January 21, 2026.
Also in Spokane, Timoteo Roque Roque, a Mexican citizen previously deported in July 2019, was sentenced by Judge Thomas O. Rice to ten years in prison and lifetime supervised release for attempting to entice a minor online. In July 2024, Roque communicated with an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old and agreed to pay $250 for sex before being arrested after traveling twice to meet the supposed child.
In Yakima County on the Yakama Nation Indian Reservation, several significant sentences were handed down:
– Tahsheena Stacie Sam received a sentence of 300 months (25 years) for second-degree murder in Indian Country after killing Destiny Lloyd on December 25, 2017.
– Jerry Slockish was sentenced to twelve years for attempted sexual abuse by force or threat against a six-year-old child on her birthday in June 2019.
– Jordan Stevens was given thirteen years for assault with intent to commit murder following an October 2018 shooting; he is already serving life for a separate murder conviction.
– J’Lovfonte Jerrome Joe received twenty years for attempted production and possession of child pornography after posting images of a minor under his care online and possessing over fifty files of child sexual abuse material.
In Pasco, Jose Luis Cruz-Agustin—a convicted rapist and Mexican national—was sentenced by Judge Mary K. Dimke to thirty months imprisonment for unlawful reentry into the United States after prior deportations. Cruz-Agustin has previous convictions including rape of two minors and domestic violence-related offenses dating back to at least 2014.
U.S. Attorney Pete Serrano stated: “While the Government was shut down and the United States Attorney’s Office continued to work important cases to protect our communities and children from being victimized.”
