Nye County first responder crews evacuated the Raley’s supermarket and adjacent businesses in Tonopah after a suspected explosive device and weapons were located inside a vehicle in the parking lot of the retailer just after 1 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 7.
According to a Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP) arrest report, Sgt. Loy Hixon ran a routine check on a Washington state license plate of a white pickup at the location.
NHP dispatchers noted that the plates returned with a missing person notice for a man identified as Kristopher Nation, who was confirmed as still missing.
After speaking to Nation, the arrest report stated that he was in alleged possession of a rifle purchased at a gun show in Texas, along with a meth pipe and what’s known as a full-length Japanese “Katana” steel sword.
Additionally, Nation was reported by dispatchers to have had two protection orders against him out of Washington state for alleged domestic violence.
Upon further investigation and an inspection of the vehicle, authorities located a pistol underneath the driver’s seat and what appeared to be a hand grenade on the passenger seat along with an assortment of commercial-grade fireworks.
As a result, units from the Las Vegas Bomb Squad, Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue crews and Nye County Sheriff’s Office investigators were summoned to the scene.
It should be noted that the bomb squad’s response time took approximately three-plus hours from Clark County to Tonopah.
Upon arrival, bomb squad crews cleared the fireworks from the vehicle and confirmed that the grenade was a plastic replica, according to the arrest report.
Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill told the Pahrump Valley Times that though the distance from Las Vegas to Tonopah is roughly 211 miles, there was no other real alternative when it comes to public safety.
McGill also said that trying to establish a bomb squad unit between Pahrump and Tonopah would be a very costly endeavor for the county.
“You would need to have people trained, and there would have to be continuous training, with equipment, supplies, tools and things along those lines,” he noted. “In all honesty, it’s just not feasible at this time. All we could do was to hold that perimeter until they arrived,” he said.
Nation was eventually arrested and charged with alleged possession by a prohibited person of firearms and drug paraphernalia.
No bail amount was listed.
Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com