Spokane – Joseph H. Harrington, United States Attorney for
the Eastern District of Washington, announced that George Skylar Cloud, age 22,
of White Swan, Washington, and an enrolled member of Confederated Bands and
Tribes of the Yakama Nation, was sentenced after having been convicted after a
four-day jury trial in January 2019 of one count of First Degree Murder and one
count of Discharging a Firearm During a Crime of Violence, and after having
pleaded guilty on February 21, 2018, to one count of Discharging a Firearm
During a Crime of Violence involving a separate incident. United States
District Judge Stanley A. Bastian sentenced Cloud to a term of life imprisonment
on the First Degree Murder count, and two consecutive 10-year terms of
imprisonment on the Discharging a Firearm During a Crime of Violence counts.
According to information disclosed during court proceedings,
in early to mid-March 2016, Cloud was a passenger in a Chrysler with multiple
occupants. The owner of the Chrysler stopped to talk with an acquaintance near
the Yakamart in Toppenish, Washington. Cloud decided to take the vehicle so he
jumped into the front seat, displayed a firearm, and shot the car owner in her
leg. The wounded victim got out and Cloud drove away in the stolen vehicle.
Afraid of Cloud, the victim did not report the crime to law enforcement or seek
medical treatment. However, members of the community later notified law enforcement
that Cloud had bragged about shooting the car owner and stealing her car.
In late March 2016, Cloud and another individual mistakenly
believed that Felina Metsker provided, or was going to provide, information to
law enforcement about the incident so they decided to murder her. In late March
2016, Ms. Metsker was shot in the head in her residence. Cloud and another
individual wrapped Ms. Metsker’s body in her bedding, dragged her across the
floor of her residence, and placed her body in the stolen Chrysler. Cloud then
transported Ms. Metsker’s body to a remote location within the boundaries of
the Yakama Nation, and left her. Cloud returned to Ms. Metsker’s residence and
requested some of his family members to assist him in trying to sanitize it. The
stolen Chrysler was later abandoned in a rural area within the boundaries of
the Yakama Nation.
On April 1, 2016, a citizen notified the Yakama Nation
Police Department that blood had been observed in Ms. Metsker’s residence. Ms.
Metsker had also been reported as a missing person. Detectives with the Yakama
Nation Police Department responded to the residence, secured it and contacted
the Federal Bureau of Investigation. After obtaining a warrant to search Ms.
Metsker’s residence, FBI investigators observed dried blood on the residence’s
ceiling, wall and floor. Investigators also perceived what appeared to be dried
fragments of a human brain on a wall behind a bed. The FBI agent in charge of
the investigation believed that the murderer(s) wrapped the victim’s body in
bedding and transported the body to another location. In May 2016, human
remains, including a skull, were discovered in a rural area within the
boundaries of the Yakama Nation. The human remains were decomposed and animals
had disturbed the area. Over the next 21 months, law enforcement officers
conducted an unrelenting and thorough investigation.
As the investigation progressed, the FBI learned that Cloud
had carjacked a victim in early to mid-March 2016, and stole her Chrysler
vehicle. A Yakama Nation police officer eventually discovered the stolen
Chrysler and notified the FBI. During a search of the Chrysler’s trunk,
investigators discovered traces of DNA. This, along with other evidence, that
had been collected was submitted to the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia. A
forensic scientist determined that Ms. Metsker was the source of blood found in
the residence, and the human remains were Ms. Metsker. An FBI metallurgist
discovered traces of low zinc brass and lead embedded in the remains of Ms.
Metsker’s skull, which was consistent with a bullet wound. No DNA or latent
fingerprint evidence linking Cloud to Ms. Metsker’s residence was recovered.
Several local residents were unwilling to cooperate with law enforcement during
the investigation. In December 2017, a witness came forward and provided
information concerning the murder.
At the sentencing hearing, Judge Bastian observed that
although Cloud was only 22 years of age, he had a “remarkable history of
incredible violence.” Furthermore, the Court observed that in murdering Ms.
Metsker, Cloud stole a life from Ms. Metsker, he stole a mother from her
children, and he stole a daughter from her mother.
Joseph H. Harrington said, “The United States Attorney’s
Office for the Eastern District of Washington commends the officers with the
Yakama Nation Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation who
investigated this case. Their seamless partnership resulted in the successful
outcome of this matter. The sentences imposed send a clear message that anyone
who commits a violent federal crime will be sentenced to a lengthy term of
federal prison.”
Two of Cloud’s family members have entered pleas of guilty
for their respective roles. On December 14 and 19, 2018, Kristen Ashlie Windy
Cloud and Nicole Lee Sunny Cloud pled guilty to one count of Misprision of a
Felony. On March 6, 2019, Judge Bastion sentenced Kristen Ashlie Windy Cloud to
serve an 18-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by a 1- year term of
court supervision upon release from federal prison. Nicole Lee Sunny Cloud’s
sentencing date is pending.
This case was investigated by the Yakima Resident Office of
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Yakama Nation Police Department.
This case was prosecuted by Tom Hanlon, an Assistant United States Attorney for
the Eastern District of Washington.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment