Nye County sheriff apologizes for leaving gun in casino bathroom

Nye County Sheriff Sharon Wehrly apologized Monday for leaving her gun in a Pahrump casino bathroom stall last week.

“It was a mistake, and I’m human, and I ask for your forgiveness,” she said in a video on the Nye County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.

The sheriff had stopped for lunch at Saddle West casino after the Nye County Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday, she said. When she went to the bathroom, she unholstered her gun.

Wehrly left the firearm behind when she took a phone call, she said.

A Saddle West employee found the gun and gave it to management. Wehrly was without the weapon for about 10 minutes, she said.

Wehrly realized she left the gun behind when got to the casino’s cafe, she said. On her way back to the bathroom, a security guard stopped her and asked if she was looking for the gun.

The sheriff called the incident “embarrassing.”

Wehrly is the incumbent candidate looking for a second term in a crowded race for Nye County sheriff. She was elected to the job in 2014.