Vanessa R. Waldref U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington
Spokane, Washington – On February 19, 2025, Nicholas J. Kloepfel, aged 41 and a resident of Graham, Washington, was sentenced to 96 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice, who also ordered three years of supervised release.
The case stemmed from an incident on January 20, 2024, when officers from the Airway Heights Police Department identified Kloepfel at a hotel in Airway Heights. Kloepfel was found to have a significant history related to drug trafficking and was on federal supervised release following a previous conviction for federal firearm and drug trafficking offenses. An active warrant for his arrest due to multiple violations of his federal supervised release was confirmed by the officers. He was subsequently taken into custody after a traffic stop nearby.
A state search warrant led investigators to search Kloepfel's vehicle, which had ties to an ongoing drug investigation in Eastern Washington. Inside the vehicle were three loaded handguns, ammunition, a fake silencer, drugs in small quantities, and drug paraphernalia. Given his extensive criminal record, Kloepfel was legally prohibited from possessing firearms.
During sentencing arguments, Acting U.S. Attorney Richard Barker noted that "Mr. Kloepfel asserted that he possessed the firearms and drugs because of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder," drawing comparisons between himself and Vietnam veterans—a comparison described as "offensive" by Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie Van Marter.
Tom Atkinson from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) commented on the case: “The heightened sentence of this repeat offender underscores the gravity with which Indian Country law enforcement treats crimes committed on and in connection to their lands.” He emphasized the importance of addressing such cases given the offender's lack of remorse.
The Kalispel Tribal Police and Bureau of Indian Affairs investigated this case with prosecution handled by Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie Van Marter.
