By Chuck Allen, NHP
Last evening at approximately 9:48 pm, a law enforcement officer assigned to Department of Public Safety-Investigation Division observed a moving violation by the driver of a silver Chevrolet 4-door sedan on US 395 in Pleasant Valley. The officer was not wearing a uniform and was driving an unmarked police vehicle. He requested assistance from a trooper and provided our DPS-Communications Center with the information which included the Nevada license plate displayed on the sedan. The dispatcher informed him that the vehicle was recently reported stolen. There were four occupants riding in the vehicle. The officer and several other troopers initiated a felony traffic stop on US 395 just south of Lakeview Hill on the north side of Carson City. All four occupants were ordered out of the vehicle, placed into handcuffs and detained.
The driver, 22-year-old Mary J. Adams of Reno, was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle, being an unlicensed driver, failure to maintain a travel lane, and for a felony no-bail warrant for a probation violation in Nevada for possession of stolen credit cards. She was transported to the Washoe County Detention Facility where she was booked.
The right front passenger, 20-year-old Karesa Ericka Fernandez of Carson City, had a misdemeanor warrant from the Carson Township Justice Court in the amount of $192 dollars for a previous traffic citation. She was taken to the Washoe County Detention Facility and booked for the warrant. While being searched during the booking process at the jail, deputies located methamphetamine on her person. Her initial misdemeanor charge was amended to include the felony drug charge.
The rear passenger, Wynter C. Taylor, 32, of Reno, had a $1,000 dollar misdemeanor warrant issued by the Reno Township Justice Court. He was taken to the Carson City Sheriff’s Office and Detention Facility where he was booked. All three subjects are still in custody this morning.
The fourth passenger, a male, was identified and was not wanted on any charges and released from the traffic enforcement stop. The owner of the sedan was contacted and his vehicle was released to him last evening.