Spokane, Washington – On July 7, 2025, Richard R. Barker stepped down as the Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. Barker will be returning to private practice in Spokane after a distinguished career in public service.

Acting United States Attorney Barker has over a decade of experience as a career prosecutor, serving as an Assistant United States Attorney since 2014.  During his career, Barker has held the positions of First Assistant United States Attorney, Tribal Liaison, Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Coordinator, Digital Asset Coordinator, and Public Affairs Officer.  From 2014 – 2019, Barker served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the nation’s capital, where he served as a dedicated homicide prosecutor.  In early 2019, Barker joined the Eastern District of Washington, serving as an Assistant United States Attorney (“AUSA”) in the Spokane office. 

Acting United States Attorney Barker has dedicated his career to serving victims of violent crime, while handling numerous homicide and violent crime cases. Late last year, Barker was lead counsel with AUSA Michael J. Ellis in the trial of Zachery Holt and Dezmonique Tenzsley for the double murder of two Tribal members and the attempted murder of a federal officer on the Colville Indian Reservation. In 2023, Barker successfully prosecuted Ronald Craig Ilg, who attempted to hire hitmen on the dark web to harm his wife and a former work colleague.  Earlier this year, Barker was lead counsel with AUSA Nowles Heinrich and Echo Fatsis in the successful trial of Luis Esquival Balonos, who was convicted on multiple drug trafficking charges stemming from more than one hundred pounds of illegal drugs being distributed on and around the Colville Indian Reservation and into Montana. Barker, who carried an active caseload while leading the office, was the first Eastern Washington U.S. Attorney in nearly two decades to try a case to a verdict while serving in the U.S. Attorney role.

Throughout his career, Acting United States Attorney Barker also handled several significant drug trafficking prosecutions.  In 2023, Barker, with co-counsel AUSA Stephanie Van Marter, prosecuted the “Fetty Bros” Drug Trafficking Organization, which was distributing hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills and other drugs into Eastern Washington and using extreme violence to insulate their organization. In his efforts to further address the fentanyl crisis, Barker worked with now former U.S. Attorney Waldref and the City of Spokane to create a Special U.S. Assistant Attorney position focused on prosecuting those responsible for illegal narcotics impacting the Spokane area.

As First Assistant United States Attorney, Barker supervised the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s litigating units, which include the Criminal, Civil, and Appellate Divisions. As the Chief Deputy to the U.S. Attorney, Barker helped establish the District’s dedicated Appellate Division and worked closely with the Office’s administrative team to obtain additional DOJ resources for increasing public safety throughout Eastern Washington.

Throughout his service, Former Acting U.S. Attorney Barker built strong relationships with Washington’s Native American communities and worked tirelessly to honor federal treaty rights with Tribal Nations in Eastern Washington and address the crisis of missing or murdered indigenous people.  In early 2024, Barker played a key role in hiring the district’s first MMIP AUSA, who is fully dedicated to prosecuting cases of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People.  For Barker’s dedication to working with Native American communities and improving public safety, he received a Department of Justice Director’s Award in 2024. 

“Serving as a federal prosecutor has been the highlight of my career,” said Barker. “It has been an honor to represent the United States and seek justice for victims and their families. Spokane has truly become home for me and my family, and I look forward to remaining active in the legal community as I return to private practice right here in Eastern Washington.”

Former U.S. Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref stated, “Acting U.S. Attorney Barker is an exceptional leader, a talented trial attorney, and a fearless advocate for justice. His service to the Department of Justice and dedication to protecting the communities of Eastern Washington is second to none. He led the District with distinction, focusing every day on doing the right thing for victims and the community and maintaining an unwavering commitment to upholding the rule of law.”

Outside the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Barker will continue to serve as an adjunct professor at Gonzaga University School of Law, where he has taught courses in Trial Advocacy and Conflicts of Law. Barker also serves as a Lawyer Representative to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Stephanie Van Marter will be assuming the role of Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. “I’m honored to pass the torch to Acting U.S. Attorney Van Marter,” said Barker. “Steph has dedicated her career to the Department of Justice, and she will lead this office with the same honor, integrity, and commitment to justice as those who have served before her.” A formal announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office regarding Ms. Van Marter’s new role will be issued in the coming days.

Clarkston, WA — July 7, 2025 — The Clarkston School District is pleased to announce that construction will officially begin next week on HVAC and solar backup system upgrades at Heights Elementary School.

A key part of the HVAC project involves replacing aging PVC piping with more durable copper, extending the system’s life and reliability. The addition of a solar backup system will increase the school’s resilience during power outages, while the upgraded HVAC system will improve indoor air quality, ventilation, and temperature control.

These upgrades are part of the district’s continued efforts to create safe, modern, and energy-efficient learning environments. They were made possible thanks to the Clarkston community’s support of the most recent capital projects vote and a grant from the Department of Commerce.

We are deeply grateful for your commitment to our schools. Your investment is helping provide healthier, more sustainable, and more effective learning spaces for all students and staff.


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Spokane, Washington – Acting United States Attorney Richard R. Barker announced that Jered Shay Picard, age 35, of Nespelem, Washington, was sentenced after pleading guilty to Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Indian Country and Attempted Witness Tampering. United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Picard to 48 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.

According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, on December 13, 2024, Picard got into a fight with the victim, his intimate partner. The victim locked herself inside a pickup truck to get away from Picard. Picard then pointed a rifle at the victim’s face before firing a shot into the sky. When the victim tried to start the truck and escape, Picard shot out the front driver side tire so she could not leave. The victim recorded the incident on video.  

The next morning, the Colville Tribal Police Department located and arrested Picard and booked him into jail.

During several jail telephone calls with the victim, Picard told her to tell investigators she did not want to press charges, avoid meeting with the FBI, delete the video of the incident, and tell investigators she and Picard were drunk at the time of the incident. Picard also implied the victim should not show up to court if the case was federally prosecuted.

“Mr. Picard’s actions were both life-threatening and deeply disturbing,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard R. Barker. “He used a firearm to terrorize his intimate partner and then attempted to manipulate her into obstructing justice. This sentence reflects the grave danger posed by armed domestic abusers—not only to their current victims, but to future partners and to the integrity of the justice system itself.”

“Mr. Picard's violent and intimidating actions were inexcusable, continuing in an aggressive and dangerous pursuit even when his victim tried to flee in a vehicle. He then compounded his crimes by continuing to intimidate the victim in a brazen attempt to avoid accountability for his actions,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. “I hope this sentence provides the first steps to closure and reinforces our commitment to combatting violent crime in all its forms. Along with our partners, the FBI is dedicated to making our state's tribal lands a safer place.”

Data shows that offenders with domestic violence in their past pose a high risk of homicide. In fact, domestic violence abusers with a gun in the home are five times more likely to kill their partners, and in addition to their lethality, firearms are used by abusers to inflict fear, intimidation, and coercive control. Additionally, when a violent intimate partner has access to a firearm, nonfatal abuse may increase in severity, even when firearms are not directly used in a violent incident.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Colville Tribal Police Department. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael L. Vander Giessen.

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Spokane, Washington – Acting United States Attorney Richard R. Barker announced that Jonathan Ray Stocker, age 44, of Sprague, Washington, was sentenced after pleading guilty to possessing image and video files depicting the sexual abuse of a young children. United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice imposed a sentence of 10 years in prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Additionally, Judge Rice ordered Stocker to pay $45,000 in restitution to his victims.

According to court documents and information presented at the sentencing hearing, on July 1, 2023, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department learned from a third party that they had seen images and videos of children being sexually abused stored on Stocker’s computer.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Stocker’s home on September 1, 2023, and seized several electronic devices, including two computers belonging to Stocker. Agents located more than 9,000 images and 184 videos of children under the age of 12 being sexually abused. 

Stocker has a prior federal conviction for Possession of Child Pornography.  In 2012, he was sentenced to 48 months in prison and 5 years of supervised release.

“The United States Attorney’s Office remains committed to holding accountable those who sexually abuse and exploit children. Mr. Stocker’s prior conviction did not deter his conduct, and today’s sentence—along with lifetime supervision—is necessary to protect vulnerable members of our Eastern Washington communities,” said Acting United States Attorney Barker.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ann T. Wick.

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