Man who used 'vibrating device' to cheat at Northern Quest Casino given credit for time served
A 33-year-old man who used a "vibrating device" to steal coins from a slot machine at Northern Quest Resort & Casino pleaded guilty Wednesday to cheating and burglary charges.
Spokane County Superior Court Judge Jeremy Schmidt followed a plea agreement reached by both attorneys and gave Jeremiah K. Villegas credit for 20 days served in jail. Villegas was expected to be released Wednesday from Geiger Corrections Center, but he was still in the facility late Wednesday afternoon, according to the jail roster.
"Mr. Villegas is here to take responsibility," said Annie Wasilewski, Villegas' attorney, during Wednesday's hearing.
Villegas, wearing yellow jail clothing, declined to make a statement to the court.
Villegas pleaded guilty as charged to second-degree cheating, a misdemeanor, and second-degree burglary, a felony. The burglary charge stems from Villegas being inside the Airway Heights casino last summer when he already had received a 99-year trespass from the business, court records show.
The standard sentence range for the burglary charge was one to three months in jail and Villegas faced up to a year in jail for cheating. But Villegas, who has no felony convictions, qualified for a first-time offender waiver, allowing Schmidt to sentence Villegas below the standard range.
According to court documents, a Kalispel Tribal police officer contacted Villegas Sept. 3 for trespassing at the casino. A Kalispel Tribal Gaming Agency agent informed the officer Villegas may be using a vibrating device on slot machines to steal coins. Two other gaming agents reported they observed Villegas' suspicious behavior from Aug. 26 to Sept. 3 at the casino.
Spokane County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Charles Crook told The Spokesman-Review that police never recovered the vibrating device.
During that nine-day period, video footage from inside the casino and inside the coin pusher slot machines showed Villegas inserting funds into the slot machines and pressing against the sides of the machines with his hands in his sweatshirt pocket, court records say. The machine and its contents vibrated during this time.
He then cashed out from the machines and continued pressing against the sides of them with his hands still in his sweatshirt pocket. Coins fell into the dispenser which would then "trigger bonuses." It's unclear how much money Villegas stole.
The Kalispel Tribal Gaming Agency in June barred Villegas from all Kalispel Tribal properties for 99 years for assaults, threats, and since 2024, "pushing and kicking" coin slot machines, according to court records.
Villegas was arrested Oct. 12 and faced 14 counts of second-degree burglary and 14 counts of first-degree cheating. He was released from jail on his own recognizance the next day after his first court appearance.
Court records show the 14 counts stemmed from Villegas entering the casino 14 times during the nine-day period in August and September after he was trespassed from the property and for potentially using the vibrating device to manipulate the coin machines the 14 times police say he entered the casino.
Prosecutors ultimately reduced the charges to one count of second-degree cheating and one count of second-degree burglary.
"He's receiving the benefit of the bargain," Crook told the court Wednesday.
The charge of cheating in Washington is focused on cheating in gambling activities. The maximum punishment for first-degree cheating, a felony, is five years in prison and up to a year in jail for misdemeanor second-degree cheating.
Whether first- or second-degree cheating, the charges are uncommon in Spokane County.
Schmidt told The Spokesman-Review after Wednesday's hearing that he's never handled a cheating case as an attorney or judge. Crook said Villegas' cheating case was also the first he's handled.
The Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney's Office has handled three cheating cases the last six years, according to Julie Humphreys, spokesperson for the office.
Villegas' sentencing terms were somewhat in line with previous second-degree cheating sentencings in Spokane County, according to Spokesman-Review records.
In 2016, a man was sentenced to a day in jail and ordered to pay $75 in restitution after pleading guilty to second-degree cheating. In 2014, a man was fined $500 for second-degree cheating.
A warrant was issued for Villegas' arrest earlier this month after he violated his release conditions for the cheating case by picking up a fourth-degree assault charge for allegedly hitting a man March 31 near downtown Spokane, according to court records. He was booked into jail April 10 and remained there Wednesday. He still faces the assault charge in Spokane Municipal Court.
Villegas also pleaded guilty Monday in Spokane County District Court to misdemeanor third-degree theft stemming from an incident in August in Spokane Valley, court records show. His 20-day jail sentence in that case ran at the same time as the cheating sentence.
Schmidt imposed no community custody and waived fines and fees in the cheating case.
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This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 7:09 PM.