Criminal Complaint — United States v. Shibley (Dkt. 12, W.D. Wash. No. 2:20-cr-00174)

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U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington · No. 2:20-cr-00174-JCC · Doc. 12 · 2020-07-07 · Docket on CourtListener

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AGREED MOTION TO EXTEND TIME FOR INDICTMENT/ - 1 
United States v. Eric Shibley, MJ20-385  
 
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 
700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 
(206) 553-7970 
 
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE 
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 
AT SEATTLE 
 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 
 
Plaintiff, 
 
v. 
 
ERIC SHIBLEY, 
       Defendant. 
NO.  MJ20-385 
 
AGREED MOTION TO EXTEND TIME 
TO SEEK AN INDICTMENT  
 
 
 
Noted:  July 7, 2020 
 
 
I. 
INTRODUCTION 
The United States and Defendant Eric Shibley seek an order from this Court 
extending the deadline for the return of an indictment in this case to October 16, 2020, 
per 18 U.S.C. § 3161.  Defendant Shibley has waived speedy indictment through October 
31, 2020, in order to make more informed decisions on trial strategies, among other 
reasons.  See Shibley Waiver of Speedy Indictment, Dkt. #9.   
Further, this extension of time is being sought in light of General Orders No. 01-
20, 02-20, 03-20, 04-20, 07-20, 08-20, and 09-20 of the United States District Court for 
the Western District of Washington.   
II. 
PROCEDURAL HISTORY 
On June 29, 2020, the Honorable Michelle L. Peterson signed a two-count 
Complaint in this matter charging Defendant Eric Shibley with one count of Wire Fraud 
Case 2:20-cr-00174-JCC     Document 12     Filed 07/07/20     Page 1 of 5

 
 
 
AGREED MOTION TO EXTEND TIME FOR INDICTMENT/ - 2 
United States v. Eric Shibley, MJ20-385  
 
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 
700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 
(206) 553-7970 
 
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and one count of Bank Fraud, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § § 1343 and 1344.  Dkt. #1.  
On June 30, 2020, Mr. Shibley was arrested and appeared before Judge Peterson and was 
released on conditions.  Dkt. #5, 6.  Mr. Shibley waived his preliminary hearing.  Dkt. #8.    
According to Section 3161(b) of the Speedy Trial Act, an indictment or an 
information must be filed within 30 days from the date the individual was arrested.  18 
U.S.C. § 3161(b).  Mr. Shibley was arrested on June 30, and an indictment is initially 
returnable within 30 days, or by July 30, 2020.  In the event that no grand jury is in 
session in this District within that time frame, the time to indict is automatically extended 
by another 30 days.  18 U.S.C. § 3161(b).    
III. 
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND 
On March 6, 2020, the Chief Judge for the Western District of Washington issued 
General Order 01-20 to address the impact of the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 
(COVID-19) within this District. General Order 01-20 states that interim guidance from 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the recommendations from 
the Departments of Public Health for Seattle and King County all suggest that individuals 
at higher risk – including individuals with underlying health conditions, individuals age 
60 and older, and individuals who are pregnant – avoid large groups of people. As a 
result, and consistent with those recommendations, General Order 01-20 directed the 
continuance of court proceedings, including grand jury proceedings, until further order of 
the Court.   
After the issuance of General Order 01-20, the President of the United States 
declared a public health emergency in response to the spread of COVID-19, and the 
Governor of the State of Washington issued a stay-at-home order. The stay-at-home order 
expired on May 31, 2020, and the State of Washington is now following a phased 
approach to the reopening of businesses and other activities.  On June 19, 2020, King 
County, where the Seattle Courthouse is located, moved to Phase 2 of this four-step 
approach.   
Case 2:20-cr-00174-JCC     Document 12     Filed 07/07/20     Page 2 of 5

 
 
 
AGREED MOTION TO EXTEND TIME FOR INDICTMENT/ - 3 
United States v. Eric Shibley, MJ20-385  
 
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 
700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 
(206) 553-7970 
 
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On May 13, 2020, the Chief Judge for the Western District of Washington signed 
General Order No. 08-20.  Among other things, this Order suspended all grand jury 
proceedings in this District.  On June 25, 2020, the Chief Judge signed General Order 09-
20, which extended the use of video conferencing and telephone conferencing for certain 
criminal hearings.  These General Orders and the earlier General Orders (01-20, 02-20, 
03-20, 04-20, and 07-20) are based on the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 
(COVID-19), throughout the United States and, in particular, in the Western District of 
Washington, and the General Orders are directed at complying with health directives 
aimed at stopping the spread of this virus.  
IV. 
BASIS FOR REQUEST 
First, Defendant Eric Shibley filed a wavier of speedy indictment in order explore 
trial strategies.  Dkt. #9.  As discussed in the Complaint (Dkt. #1), this investigation 
involves multiple loan applications for multiple businesses.  It is reasonable for 
Defendant Shibley to request additional time before the filing of an indictment.   
Second, the current health crisis further demonstrates that a continuance of the 
speedy indictment deadline is supported by the ends of justice.  Social distancing 
measures mentioned above make it difficult to convene a grand jury.  The United States 
and the Court are working to address the health measures necessary to allow grand jury 
proceedings safely to take place and to ensure that a quorum of grand jury members will 
be willing to appear.  Still, even if grand jury proceedings are able to resume prior to July 
30, 2020, the number of cases awaiting presentation is large enough that the government 
will be unable to present all of the cases currently awaiting indictment to a grand jury 
prior to July 30, 2020. 
The parties respectfully asks this Court to find that, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 
§ 3161(h)(7)(A), the ends of justice served by extending the time in which an indictment 
must be filed in this matter outweigh the best interests of the public and the defendant in 
pursuing a speedy indictment and trial, and that the failure to grant such a continuance 
would make a continuation of the proceeding impossible resulting in a miscarriage of 
Case 2:20-cr-00174-JCC     Document 12     Filed 07/07/20     Page 3 of 5

 
 
 
AGREED MOTION TO EXTEND TIME FOR INDICTMENT/ - 4 
United States v. Eric Shibley, MJ20-385  
 
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 
700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 
(206) 553-7970 
 
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justice. This finding is consistent with the Chief Judge’s finding in General Order 08-20 
with respect to the analogous issue of speedy trial rights: 
The Court continues to find that, due to the current inability to obtain an 
adequate spectrum of jurors and the effect of the above public health 
situation on the availability of witnesses, counsel and Court staff to be 
present in the courtroom, the time period of the continuances implemented 
by this General Order will be excluded under the Speedy Trial Act, as the 
Court finds that the ends of justice served by ordering the continuances 
outweigh the best interests of the public and any defendant’s right to a 
speedy trial, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §3161(h)(7)(A). 
V. 
CONCLUSION 
For the reasons stated, an extension of the Indictment deadline to October 16, 
2020, is necessary to avoid a miscarriage of justice.      
 
DATED this 7th day of July, 2020. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Respectfully submitted, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
BRIAN T. MORAN 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
United States Attorney  
 
 
 
 
 
s/ Brian Werner 
 
 
 
BRIAN WERNER 
Assistant United States Attorney 
700 Stewart Street, Suite 5220  
Seattle, Washington 98101 
Telephone: (206) 553-2389 
E-mail:  Brian.Werner@usdoj.gov 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
By e-mail authorization 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
s/ Michael Nance 
 
 
 
MICHAEL NANCE 
Attorney For Defendant 
 
 
 
 
 
Case 2:20-cr-00174-JCC     Document 12     Filed 07/07/20     Page 4 of 5

 
 
 
AGREED MOTION TO EXTEND TIME FOR INDICTMENT/ - 5 
United States v. Eric Shibley, MJ20-385  
 
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 
700 STEWART STREET, SUITE 5220 
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101 
(206) 553-7970 
 
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 
 
 
I hereby certify that on July 7, 2020, I electronically filed the foregoing with the 
Clerk of Court using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to 
the attorney of record for the defendant.  
 
s /Anna Chang 
 
                    
 ANNA CHANG 
 Paralegal  
 United States Attorney=s Office 
 700 Stewart Street, Suite 5220 
 Seattle, Washington 98101-1271 
 Telephone:   (206) 553-7970 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Case 2:20-cr-00174-JCC     Document 12     Filed 07/07/20     Page 5 of 5

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