Former rural fire chief sentenced for embezzlement

EPHRATA – A former fire chief for Warden-based Grant County Fire District No. 4 was sentenced Monday in Grant County Superior Court to three months in jail plus community service and ordered to pay $70,000 in restitution after embezzling public funds to pay for his personal gambling habits.

Kevin James Whitaker, 35, pled guilty on Sept. 29 to a single felony count of first-degree identify theft following an investigation by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office that began in November 2024.

A detective’s report said Whitaker was suspected of diverting money from a petty cash account, then forging the names of fire district commissioners and staff to write checks to himself. Over 100 checks were written to Whitaker, who was also accused of misusing fire district credit cards and intercepting bank statements before they could be reviewed, the report stated.

Whitaker, who was hired as the district’s fire chief in August 2022, allegedly passed the forged checks between February 2023 and October 2024. He resigned when commissioners began questioning discrepancies in the district’s financial statements.

According to court records, Whitaker declined to talk to a detective when contacted in mid-November 2024 and referred any questions to his private attorney. But the sheriff’s office was told during its investigation that Whitaker had once admitted to a former fire chief that he had a gambling problem.

During Monday’s court hearing, Judge Melissa Chlarson followed the plea agreement proposed by the Grant County Prosecutor’s Office and sentenced Whitaker to four months in jail with 30 days converted to 240 hours of community service. Three other felony counts of forgery were dismissed.

Whitaker, who had no prior criminal history, faced a standard range of three to nine months in jail under state sentencing guidelines.

Along with paying restitution, Chlarson ordered Whitaker to complete 12 months’ community supervision through the state Department of Corrections, including approval for any future employment and living arrangements. Whitaker was also ordered to complete a gambling addiction evaluation and any recommended treatment and not possess any controlled substances without a valid prescription.

The state’s case was handled by county deputy prosecutor Cole Deaver. Whitaker was represented by Moses Lake attorney Robert Schiffner.