YAKAMA MAN SENTENCED TO LIFE IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR FIRST DEGREE MURDER AND DISCHARGING FIREARMS DURING SEPARATE CRIMES OF VIOLENCE

WASHINGTON – George Skylar Cloud, 22, of White Swan, Washington, and an enrolled member of Confederated Bands and Tribes of the Yakama Nation, was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a 33-year old Yakama woman who was killed in an attempt to cover up a violent car jacking and shooting on the Yakama Nation Indian reservation, announced Joseph H. Harrington, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.

Cloud was convicted after a four-day jury trial in January 2019 on one count of first degree murder and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and after having pleaded guilty in February 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 life in prison on the first degree murder count, and two consecutive 10-year sentences on the counts of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

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 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 asked 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 FBI to assist in the investigation. In May 2016, human remains were discovered in a rural area within the boundaries of the Yakama Nation. Over the next 21 months, law enforcement officers conducted an unrelenting and thorough investigation that led to the prosecution of Cloud and his accomplices.

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 Dec. 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 18 months in prison, to be followed by a one-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 FBI, and the Yakama Nation Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Tom Hanlon, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.