Authorities identify Reno man who died in gunfire exchange with deputy at Silver Springs casino
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Fri, 02/26/2016 - 9:51pm
Authorities have identified a Reno man as a suspect who died late Thursday after an officer involved shooting in which a Lyon County Sheriff’s Office deputy was wounded while investigating a carjacking.
Tristan Conti, 19, died after an exchange of gunfire at the Nugget Casino in Silver Springs when a Lyon County deputy spotted a vehicle that matched the description of a vehicle involved in a Sparks area carjacking that happened earlier in the evening, authorities said.
At around 10 p.m. the deputy located the vehicle and requested backup. Within seconds after radio transmission, the deputy was fired upon by one of the suspects in the stolen vehicle, according to a Lyon County Sheriff’s Office news release.
In the exchange of gunfire, the deputy was hit in the left hand and the suspect was fatally wounded. A second suspect in the car was wounded by gunfire, the release states.
The deputy immediately rendered first aid to the wounded second suspect until emergency medical rescue arrived at the scene. The suspect was flown by Care Flight to Renown Medical Center in Reno. The deputy was also taken to Renown where he was treated and released Friday morning. The second suspect who was wounded is expected to recover from injuries and will be transferred to a juvenile justice facility.
Two other suspects who fled the scene were later taken into custody by Lyon County sheriff’s deputies. They were located while trying to flag down a passing vehicle, the release states.
Because the three other suspects involved are juveniles, their names have not been released. The two uninjured juveniles were taken to the Jan Evans Juvenile Justice Center.
“I don’t want to see overreaction in our citizens from this event,” said Lyon County Sheriff Al McNeil. “I consider this an isolated incident and should not be seen as a developing threat to our communities. The actions of the deputy involved were of the highest standards and expectations of this agency. All of us at the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office wish him a speedy recovery.”
The deputy involved in the shooting will be placed on administrative leave pending completion of the investigation, in accordance with Lyon County Sheriff’s Office policy.
The Nevada Division of Investigations has the lead on the criminal investigation surrounding the shooting. Carson City Sheriff’s Office is handling the coroner functions. Washoe County Forensic Investigation Section is working the crime scene collection of evidence.
