John has lived in Spokane County nearly his entire life. A graduate of Central Valley High School in 1991, he went on to graduate from Eastern Washington University in 1996 with a BA in Criminal Justice.

John and his wife Shawna have been married for 30 years and have four children. They’ve lived in the same house for 24 years.

John began his law enforcement career in the Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division in 1998. He served as a patrol deputy until 2001 when he joined the Traffic Unit. As a member of the Traffic Unit, John became a Technical Collision Investigator, investigating fatality and serious injury collisions. In 2003, he was promoted to the rank of Detective and worked in the Spokane Valley Property Crimes Unit. In 2005, he was assigned to the Investigative Support Unit to investigate narcotics cases.

John was promoted to sergeant in 2008 and supervised the Spokane Valley Property Crimes Unit. In 2013, he was promoted to Lieutenant and supervised the Investigative Task Force as well as served as Commander of the Spokane Regional Drug Task Force. After being appointed to the rank of Inspector in 2015, John was appointed as Undersheriff in 2018 and supervised business operations, training, and human resources functions. John currently oversees the Investigative and Intelligence Divisions.

John graduated with his Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership through the University of Oklahoma in 2019. John also attended and graduated from the 265th session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, in September 2016. While at the FBI National Academy, he completed Master’s level leadership courses from the University of Virginia.

John was a Law Enforcement Fellow with the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) working on national-level police policy development, including evaluating and assisting in the development of policy training programs. He will utilize this unique experience in the Sheriff’s office.

John currently holds volunteer positions on The Salvation Army Advisory Board, the Spokane County Behavioral Health Advisory Board, the Washington State Children’s Justice Task Force, the Partners With Families and Children Board, and the Spokane Regional Domestic Violence Board.