Friday marked the final day of service for one of Eastern Washington’s longest-tenured federal prosecutors.
Over the past thirty-three years, Assistant United States Attorney Timothy J. Ohms has served with distinction as a trial attorney and mentor within the United States Attorney’s Office. He is an expert in complex cases involving mental illness, international affairs/extradition, natural and cultural resource crimes, and violent crime. He was also one of the first Assistant United States Attorneys in Eastern Washington to file cyberstalking charges.
Ohms prosecuted several significant drug trafficking cases as well as violent crime cases arising in Eastern Washington. He also was at the forefront of prosecuting cases involving wildlife and Native American artefacts. Over the course of his career, Ohms tried more than forty cases to a verdict and argued eighty-six cases in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In 1992, Ohms and former AUSA Rolf Tangvald successfully prosecuted Barbara Fraley and Phil W. Champagne in connection with federal counterfeiting charges. Through the investigation into Fraley, authorities learned that Champagne had staged his death in the Olympia area in the early 1980s to collect on a $1.5 million insurance policy.
After Champagne’s family collected on the insurance payout, he assumed the identity of Harold Richard Stegeman until his true identity was discovered during the investigation, prosecution, and trial of Fraley. The investigation began with the passing of a single counterfeit federal reserve note by Fraley at what was then a Perkins Restaurant in Ritzville. The case was the subject of a 1995 book by Burl Barer. There are several highlights in Ohms’ illustrious career.
In 1995, Ohms was a member of the prosecutorial team in United States v. Antero Carreno. The case was part of a larger investigation of organised drug trafficking in Northcentral Washington. Carreno ultimately pled guilty and stipulated to responsibility for smuggling 100 kilograms of cocaine into Canada.
In 2001, Ohms was the trial attorney in United States v. John Calvert. Based on the evidence presented at trial, Calvert had been hired to retaliate against an elderly resident of Spokane who had testified in another federal case. In June 1998, Calvert travelled to Spokane from Port Angeles with a co-conspirator. The co-conspirator entered the victim’s home and bound the victim and the victim’s wife. The victim was able to break free, access a handgun, and shoot and kill the co-conspirator. The victim was shot and injured in the exchange. Calvert was convicted on all counts charged against him and received a lengthy prison sentence.
In 2002, Ohms led an investigation of crack cocaine distribution by members of the Rolling 20s Crips street gang in the Browne’s Addition neighbourhood of Spokane. The gang members had taken over many units at what was then the Casa Grande apartment complex. The drug distribution fueled a large amount of collateral criminal conduct in the area. The investigation involved the simultaneous service of 23 search warrants at the apartment complex and led to the conviction of 15 people involved in the criminal enterprise.
In 2010, Ohms led the prosecution team in United States v. Clarence Stensgar, wherein Stensgar was convicted of raping two women on the Colville Indian Reservation. For this pattern of sexual abuse, Stensgar was sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison.
In 2011, Ohms and his trial partner, AUSA Tyler Tornabene, obtained a guilty verdict against Ricky S. Wahchumwah and Victoria Jim, who were convicted at trial for selling bald and golden eagle parts in violation of the Lacey Act. Wahchumwah, Jim, and other co-defendants had been illegally poaching bald and golden eagles by using horse and deer carcasses for bait. The tail feathers, flight feathers, and plumes were removed from the eagles and offered for sale. Evidence in the case revealed that the total number of eagles killed as part of the criminal activity exceeded fifty.
Ohms prosecuted the “Twisp Trio” in 2012 for violating the Endangered Species Act. The charges related to the unlawful killing of endangered gray wolves near Twisp, Washington. The investigation began when a resident of the area attempted to ship a fresh wolf hide to Canada using a false description of the shipment and a false name. The shipper refused the package because it was draining blood.
In April 2014, Ohms prevailed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in United States v. Gillenwater, a case involving the transmission of threatening communications through the United States mail. Ohms argued the case before retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, sitting by designation on the case. Justice O’Connor wrote the opinion affirming the government’s position on appeal.
In 2015, Ohms was the trial attorney in United States v. Cardenas, involving the possession of methamphetamine in conjunction with the unlawful possession of a firearm and an explosive device by a felon and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The case stemmed from an incident on the lower South Hill in Spokane on April 26, 2012, in which Cardenas was shot during an exchange of gunfire with an unidentified person. The stolen firearm used by Cardenas was found on a woman who was attempting to drive Cardenas to the hospital. The evidence included bullets that were lodged in a neighbouring home. Cardenas was convicted on all counts and sentenced to over 20 years in custody.
Ohms led the prosecution team in the 2015 trial of Jason C. Youker, who orchestrated a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin from a private compound located on Gold Mountain near Republic, Washington. Evidence at trial established that Youker used the compound to cut and package heroin and methamphetamine and then buried these drugs on the compound. Youker would disclose the locations of heroin and methamphetamine to subordinates or customers by text message. Youker was found guilty of more than thirty criminal counts that included the unlawful possession of firearms and the use of a communication facility in the commission of a drug felony. Youker was later sentenced to twenty years in federal prison.
In 2018, Ohms and then law clerk Emily Sauvageau won the case of United States v. Odell Kinard. Just over a month prior, AUSA Ohms had volunteered to take over the drug-trafficking conspiracy case, which arose out of a Title III wiretap investigation. The jury stayed out less than two hours before returning verdicts of guilty on all 12 counts.
Ohms and his co-counsel, Russell E. Smoot, obtained a conviction against Rio A. Mirabal for the 2021 arson of St. Charles Parrish and School in Spokane, Washington. Mirabal also was ordered to pay nearly $5 million in restitution for the damage caused by the fire.
In 2023, Ohms served on the trial team with AUSA Michael J. Ellis in United States vs. Tainewasher. The case involved a toddler on the Yakama Indian Reservation who died from exposure to fentanyl.
Ohms, who also served as a Special Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Stevens County, played a critical role in bringing first-degree murder charges against Charles Lloyd Tatom in connection with the 1997 deaths of Marlene and Cassie Emmerson. For approximately two decades, Ohms and Earl Hicks worked together on a parallel conspiracy investigation involving an outlaw motorcycle club community in the Colville area. Charges in the case were filed just over a week ago.
During his time with the Department of Justice, Ohms served on a detail to Romania as a Resident Legal Advisor. During his time overseas, Ohms represented DOJ’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, working with the Romanian Minister of Justice, judges, prosecutors, and other members of the criminal justice on matters of international priority, including human trafficking, counter-terrorism, internal corruption, and transnational organised crime. During his four years in Romania, Ohms worked tirelessly to assist Romanian authorities in improving the efficiency and fairness of the criminal justice system.
Throughout his career, Ohms mentored younger AUSAs, helping them navigate the courtroom and teaching them how to present a federal case. Ohms also played a key role in the office’s law student intern program, investing countless hours in the interview process and mentoring the interns accepted into the program.
Ohm’s involvement and dedication to mentoring during his DOJ tenure have been invaluable for the Eastern District of Washington and nationwide. Many of the more than 100 law clerks Ohms mentored have become prosecutors, including several who serve as Assistant United States Attorneys and DOJ Trial Attorneys across the United States.
“Tim’s advocacy on behalf of the people of Eastern Washington is second to none. Whenever there is a sensitive, high-profile, complex, or challenging case, Tim is the one to handle it,” stated U.S. Attorney Waldref. “Tim did not shy away from hard cases. He has a passion and talent for telling the story of the victim by ensuring their voice is heard and understood in the courtroom. While we will miss Tim, his legacy will live on through the lives that he has touched over his storied 33-year career.”
First Assistant United States Attorney Richard R. Barker stated, “Tim played a key role in recruiting me to the Eastern District of Washington, and he served as my mentor after I joined the office. I will forever be grateful for his example of what it means to be an AUSA – to always seek justice, to protect our community, and to make the right decisions, even when no one is looking. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington is a better place because of Tim Ohm’s Service.”
“Tim Ohms is an exceptional lawyer, and it has been my honour and privilege to serve with him for the past thirty-three years,” stated AUSA Earl A. Hicks. “He is one of our most seasoned prosecutors. Whenever he was in trial, I would become entranced by Tim’s incredible opening statements.”
Ohms graduated from Western Washington University with a degree in English and Classical Greek. He received his J.D. from Seattle University School of Law in 1985 and a Masters of Fine Arts from Eastern Washington University in 2003 while also serving as an AUSA. After graduating from law school, Ohms worked in private practice in Clarkson before becoming a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Asotin County, Washington. In 1988, Ohms was appointed the Asotin County Prosecutor, where he served until joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office in October of 1991.
