Crime Corner

Pahrump man arrested after alleged road rage incident

Followed victim to location after getting cut off

A Pahrump man was arrested earlier this month after he allegedly pointed a weapon at another man during a road rage incident.

Robert Pierro was taken into custody on Jan. 17 and charged with aiming a gun at a person and assault with a deadly weapon after a witness stated that she saw Pierro pointing a semi-automatic gun at the victim.

The Nye County Sheriff's Office was contacted and alerted to a possible weapons offense on the 2100 block of East Walt Williams Drive by a woman who stated that she witnessed her friend having a gun pulled on him at a duck pond.

The witness stated that she was waiting at the duck pond for her friend and when he arrived, a red Chevrolet Camaro pulled up behind him. The witness said a white male exited the Camaro and began a heated argument with the victim.

During the argument the witness stated that Pierro pulled out a black, semi-automatic handgun from his holster and aimed it at the victim and threatened to shoot him.

Upon contacting the victim, the witness stated that the incident began after he had cut Pierro off driving on the road. The victim also revealed that at one one point during the argument Pierro put his gun away and began pushing the victim before leaving the scene with his wife, police records state.

A sheriff's deputy stopped Pierro on Mount Charleston Drive, and during the stop a black handgun was found on Pierro's hip, which had one bullet in the chamber and a full clip, police said.

Pierro admitted to the deputy that he followed the victim to the pond, but to only tell him that he was an "asshole" for cutting him off, according to police.

Pierro said that during the argument that he only took his gun out of his holster and kept it by his side, but claimed he never pointed it at anyone.

When asked why he eventually put the gun away during the altercation, Pierro said that it was to show the victim that he was disarmed.

When interviewed by police, Pierro's wife said that they had just left a local tavern and verified that he did draw his weapon during the argument.

Pierro was taken into custody on the two charges and transported to the Nye County Detention Center and was being held on $7,500 bond.

Pair arrested on several charges including possession of stolen property

The two were driving a stolen vehicle out of California

A pair of California residents were arrested in Tonopah Jan. 20 on various charges related to a traffic stop that revealed the vehicle they were traveling in was stolen.

Shawn Evans and Valerie Kuhn were arrested and charged with various preliminary charges after the Nye County Sheriff's Office discovered their automobile was reported stolen out of California.

A sheriff's deputy witnessed a car traveling at a speed appearing to be above the posted 25 mph speed limit on Main Street. Upon verifying suspicions the deputy checked his radar gun, which clocked the automobile as going 39 mph, according to the sheriff's office.

The deputy pulled the vehicle over and was advised by dispatch that the automobile was reported stolen. The deputy asked Evans out of the vehicle and placed him in handcuffs and then got Kuhn out of the vehicle and handcuffed her as well.

After reading Evans his Miranda rights he agreed to speak to the deputy without a lawyer present, according to police.

According to the deputy, Evans explained that he didn't know that the car was stolen and that he knew the owner of the vehicle but could not give the officer the owner's name. He claimed that he had only known the owner of the automobile for a few days and that he and Kuhn were traveling to Las Vegas.

The deputy discovered that Evan's license was suspended in California and there was also a warrant out for his arrest there, according to police.

During the deputy's search of the vehicle he discovered three glass pipes.

Both Evans and Kuhn were then transported to the Tonopah Detention Center for booking. During their transport to the detention center Evans advised Kuhn, "Don't say anything, they only know I took the vehicle, they can't prove you knew, they can't charge you with something if you didn't know," according to the sheriff's office.

Evans was booked on preliminary charges of possessing stolen property with a value between $650 and $3500, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving with a suspended license and speeding 1 to 10 mph over the posted limit. Kuhn was booked on preliminary charges of possession of stolen property valued between $650 and $3,500 and possession of marijuana less than or equal to an ounce. Their bonds were $8,350 and $5,400 respectively.

Man arrested after failing to register as sex offender in Tonopah

Suspect arrived in town weeks earlier

A man new to Tonopah was arrested Jan. 20 after the Nye County Sheriff's Office discovered he was an unregistered sex offender in the area.

After receiving a call from the Salvation Army about a "suspicious person," the sheriff's department spoke with an employee of the organization who said that they had helped the man, Benjamin Franklin Grier, out several times over the last two weeks, according to the sheriff's office.

Upon their initial investigation, police discovered that Grier was a registered sex offender out of Washoe County, as a sheriff's deputy was advised to locate the suspect and arrest him for not registering as a sex offender in Tonopah.

Later that day the deputy came across two males walking southbound on Main Street and during his field interview identified one of the men as Grier and took him into custody.

Grier was preliminarily charged with being a sex offender failing to register and was transported to the Tonopah Detention Center without incident.