James Cloud, 35, a citizen of the Yakama Nation, has been charged in connection with deadly shootings on the reservation in Washington state. Photos: Yakama Nation

Law

Charges filed in connection with deadly shootings on Yakama Nation

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Two men have been charged in connection with shootings that left five people dead on the Yakama Nation.

James Dean Cloud, 35, and Donovan Quinn Carter Cloud, age undisclosed, are charged with one count of carjacking and each with one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. They are accused of stealing a car "by force, violence, and intimidation, with the intent to cause death and bodily harm," and of using a firearm during the carjacking, according to the June 10 indictment.

In an affidavit, an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation said the Clouds were identified as the assailants in the shootings by two other people who were arrested on the reservation in Washington state. Morris Bruce Jackson and Natasha Jackson helped the Clouds steal the car but have not been charged in federal court in connection with the carjacking, according to a review of online records.

An affidavit filed in federal court explains the carjacking and firearms charges filed against James Dean Cloud and Donovan Quinn Carter Cloud.

At some point, the Jacksons became separated from the Clouds, who proceeded to another residence on the reservation, where they stole another car, according to the affidavit. In doing so, one of the Clouds "grabbed a child, and held a gun to the child's head," FBI Agent Ronald T. Ribail stated.

"The child was able to escape from the two males," Ribail wrote in the affidavit. An adult who witnessed the encounter identified Donovan Cloud as the one who held a gun to the child's head, the agent stated.

"James and Donovan are enrolled members of the Confederated Bands and Tribes of the Yakama Nation," the affidavit reads.

A total of five people were killed on the reservation on June 8. Four were identified in news reports as Dennis Overacker, 61; Catherine Eneas, 49; Michelle Starnes 51; and Thomas Hernandez, 36. The identity of the fifth person was being withheld pending notification of family, according to news reports.

James Dean Cloud previously served time in federal prison after pleading guilty to a burglary on the reservation and being in possession of a stolen firearm. He admitted that he repeatedly violated the conditions of his release by using drugs and failing to follow orders of his probation officer, resulting in him being returned to prison twice even though he eventually won a reduction in his initial sentence of 150 months. He also has a conviction in Washington state court.

"So all together, by my calculations, since you got out, not even a year ago, you got out September 19th of last year, you've had 99 days of totally good behavior," the judge told Cloud at a July 11, 2017, hearing, in which he admitted violating the conditions of his release while living in Spokane, off the reservation, and in Yakima, which is near the reservation.

"You're telling me Spokane has its triggers, Yakima has a ton of triggers for you. Old friends, old enemies, family members, old places, old haunts," the judge said during the extremely candid and unusually lengthy hearing.

"But one more, you know, go around, and it's statutory, you're off for 15 years," Cloud was warned.

The penalty for a carjacking that results in death is life in prison. The death penalty is also on the table, according to 18 U.S. Code § 2119..

The penalty for using a firearm during a carjacking ranges from 5 years to life, depending on the circumstances and the past history of the defendant, according to 18 U.S. Code § 2119.