Crime Corner

COPS: 18-year-old takes police on high-speed chase in county vehicle

The 18-year-old grandson of a Nye County commissioner stole his grandmother’s county-issued 2009 Dodge Durango earlier this month and led police on a high speed chase that ended in Lander County.

Deion Raymond was staying with his grandparents, Lorinda and Oz Wichman, at the family’s ranch in northern Nye County. Lorinda Wichman is a longtime county commissioner. She said Raymond was working at the ranch to pay for damages to a museum he and a friend allegedly vandalized. She said things were going great until the teenager took off July 5 unannounced in her county vehicle, supposedly to go meet a friend.

Raymond didn’t get far, however. State police and Lander County’s Sheriff’s deputies laid spike strips along Highway 50 near Sand Mountain, which forced Raymond off the road and into a mud bog.

The young man was booked into the Lander County Detention Center on charges of possession of a stolen vehicle, basic speed 31-40 miles over the speed limit, failure to yield at a stop sign and driver disobeying a peace officer. His bail was set at $25,385. A justice of the peace released the man on July 9.

Wichman said she has not heard from her grandson since his release. She said the county vehicle was towed at her expense, but that there was no damage and no injuries as a result of the incident.

COPS: Man admits to harboring jail escapee

The man police say walked away from his jail work release program on only his second day in was actually caught hiding in a friend’s trailer home in Comstock Park. A newspaper report last week suggested he was caught outside.

Johnathan Moncada is back in jail now, but repercussions of his escape were still being felt.

A known associate of Moncada’s has now joined his friend behind bars after admitting to lying to the detectives who found the escaped prisoner. Greg Cosby was contacted by police on July 12 and told they were looking for Moncada.

On July 14, the prisoner was arrested in Cosby’s trailer, despite Cosby’s assertions that the prisoner wasn’t there.

Then on July 16, police returned to Cosby’s home to clear up the matter. Cosby admitted to lying at first, saying Moncada had only been there for 20 minutes. When detectives said they would get a search warrant, Cosby said he finally admitted to the deputies where the escapee was hiding.

After making his admission, Cosby was handcuffed and taken to the Nye County Detention Center. He was booked on a charge of harboring a fugitive from justice and could face other charges.

COPS: Man’s love of cheap sunglasses leads to arrest

A business reported the theft of a pair of sunglasses worth $12.99 last week after a man strolled into the establishment at 840 E. Highway 372 and took the shades without paying for them. He returned to the location twice and each time failed to pay up, according to a police report on the matter.

Police were informed that the suspect, later identified as James Weaver, kept returning to the store.

On July 15, police were called to the store because Weaver had returned. When deputies arrived, he was seen milling about the front entrance.

When confronted, Weaver didn’t dispute that he stole the cheap shades. He even admitted that he simply didn’t have the money to pay for them. It was unclear from police reports why the man kept returning to the scene of the crime.

Weaver was arrested and booked into the Nye County Detention Center on a count of petit larceny.

COPS:

Two weekends ago, local police didn’t just have one fugitive from justice (see news brief above), but two.

Larry Dial, a veteran patron of the local law and order industry, was reported to have left a local hospital on July 11 where he was being treated for diabetes-related aches and pains. Problem for Dial was that he was supposed to return to the jail. Instead of returning to his jail cell, the suspect bailed.

Dial was sentenced to a year in the county jail on June 12, so deputies say he had ample reason to dart.

The fugitive, whose escape was only noticed when a curious jail tech called the hospital on July 13 to check on Dial, was finally captured on July 15. He now faces additional jail time after being charged with unauthorized absence by a prisoner.