Memory of fallen officer to be honored on anniversary

The fifth anniversary of Nye County Sheriff’s Deputy Ian Deutch’s death in the line of duty will be marked Sunday at the park that now bears his name.

Deutch was shot and killed while responding to a domestic dispute at Lakeside Casino on April 26, 2010.

Local resident Gary Marchinke, who was working as a security guard at the casino at the time of the shooting, is organizing a remembrance ceremony at the park that was renamed to honor Deutch’s memory.

The ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, 8 p.m., at Ian Deutch Memorial Park, formerly Honeysuckle Park. County Commissioner Butch Borasky helped Marchinke organize the event.

Marchinke, who witnessed the aftermath of the shooting, credited sheriff’s deputies on scene with saving his life and those of others.

“I was just a very short distance away but I was blocked out from the scene,” he said. “I wanted to pay tribute to Nye County and the fact that they saved the day. In my opinion the man would have shot the place up and I was just grateful that Nye County Sheriff’s deputies saved my life that day.”

Marchinke, who has since retired, said he knew of others who had similar ideas to honor Deutch.

“I touched base with another deputy and he liked the idea,” he said. “I just happen to be the first one who started the ball rolling. Ian was an awesome individual. We always say good things about people after they are gone but people were saying good things about him long before he died.”

Marchinke said programs for the ceremony are being published, which will include a list of the speakers including Sheriff Sharon Wehrly and U.S. Rep. Cresent Hardy.

He said he was astonished at the sheer turnout of the first anniversary ceremony and he is glad the community has honored the deputy by renaming the park as well as the government complex housing the courthouse and police department on Basin Avenue after Deutch.

“The original candlelight service at Lakeside Amphitheater was so awesome,” he said. “There must have been 2,000 people there and you couldn’t find a space anywhere. It was just a mass of humanity that really touched my heart. The following year we did something at the courthouse and I just thought that this being the fifth anniversary, it was totally appropriate.”

Deutch, 27 at the time, was slain on his second day back on the job after returning from a tour of duty in Afghanistan with the Nevada National Guard.

He was killed after being shot three times in the parking lot of Lakeside Casino. Though Deutch was wearing a protective vest, one round penetrated the vest.

The shooter was killed by an officer who returned fire after he stepped out of the casino with an assault rifle and opened fire, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The suspect was carrying an semi-automatic rifle.

The incident began when deputies were dispatched to answer a 911 call from a woman who said her boyfriend was driving close behind her car, shooting at her as she tried to get away from him.

Marchinke told the Nye County Commission on Tuesday that there is no doubt in his mind the response by police prevented a “full-scale massacre.”