Man dead, son charged with open murder
What began as a verbal domestic argument between a father and son, ended with a vehicle pursuit and the arrest of the son for alleged homicide and additional charges.
Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill told the Pahrump Valley Times that the incident occurred on Monday, Feb. 10, along the 1000 block of Bunarch Road, just before 6 p.m.
Brief pursuit
“While deputies were en route to the location, they were advised that the suspect had left eastbound on Bunarch in a vehicle,” he said. “A pursuit ensued southbound on Highway 160, during which time the suspect was determined to be on the phone with dispatch.”
McGill said that the suspect, identified as Robert Short Jr., 31, of Pahrump, told dispatchers he would stop in the Albertsons parking lot, but instead circled back up the highway and stopped in the parking lot of Home Depot at Basin Ave and 160 where the pursuit ended.
Victim pronounced dead
At roughly the same time, additional deputies arrived at the Bunarch residence and found the father, who appeared to have been struck with either a sword or crowbar, bleeding heavily from his head and face.
Several other individuals were inside the residence at the time, according to McGill.
Though emergency lifesaving efforts were immediately applied, the man succumbed to his injuries.
Medics summoned /charges filed
While detained at the Home Depot parking lot, McGill said Short Jr. complained that he was having a heart attack.
“We refer to that condition oftentimes as “Incarceritis,” McGill noted. “Medics quickly responded, assessed and ultimately cleared him for transport to the Nye County Detention Center.”
Short Jr. is facing an alleged open murder with a deadly weapon charge, felony evading, violating an extended protective order and possession of a vehicle without the owner’s consent.
Previous arrest
In April 2022, Short Jr. was arrested and charged following a domestic dispute at a residence along Bunarch Road for attempted murder, domestic battery with a deadly weapon, and abuse to an elderly person by physically battering the victim, as found in an archives search of the Pahrump Valley Times.
Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com
