Carson City arrests: Six jailed in connection to shots fired early Saturday in downtown area
The Carson City Sheriff's Office and its Special Enforcement Team arrested six men in connection with gun shots fired early Saturday morning in the downtown area, according to a CCSO booking report.
Arrested were Jhonatan Moreno, 31, of Sun Valley, for suspicion of prohibited persons with a firearm and eluding; Miguel Moreno, 31, of Sun Valley for prohibited person with a firearm; Horacio Gonzalez, 25, of Sun Valley for prohibited person with firearm; Augustine Medina, 22, of Reno for prohibited person with a gun and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit; Niko Jimenez, 22, of Reno for prohibited person with a gun and Angel Grageda, 26, of Sparks for prohibited person with a gun.
All six are believed to be affiliated with a motorcycle gang. According to the booking report, CCSO deputies and a Special Enforcement Team member responded to the area of the Blue Bull in the 100 block of East Telegraph for a report of gun shots fired.
A CCSO detective advised via radio to assist other deputies with a high risk traffic stop, where a sergeant had attempted to stop a vehicle in front of the bar after a male, later identified as Angel Grageda, ran to vehicle after running from a deputy when he attempted to stop him, the arrest report states.
The sergeant's patrol vehicle lights were on and he gave verbal commands for the vehicle to stop as it drove away from him. A SET officer assisted the sergeant with the high risk traffic stop when the vehicle was located.
The sergeant gave one of the males, later identified as Miguel Moreno, who was sitting in the rear driver's side of the vehicle, instructions to exit the vehicle. The man complied with instructions and was detained and escorted to a patrol vehicle, the report states.
The SET deputy returned to the vehicle to continue to assist deputies. Another man identified as Horacio Gonzalez, who was sitting in the front right passenger area of the vehicle, was called out of the vehicle and detained. Three other males were detained on scene of the traffic stop, the report states.
The following individuals were seated in the vehicle at the time of the traffic stop: Jhonathan Moreno, Horacio Gonzalez, Niko Jimenez and Miguel Moreno.
A fifth male, later identified as Angel Grageda, had fled the vehicle when it came to a stop near the intersection of East William and North Division. He was apprehended by deputies while he was hiding in a tree in a nearby residence, the report states.
A sixth male, later identified as Augustin Benny Medina, was detained in the parking lot east of the Blue Bull. A deputy informed the SET officer he had located a firearm in the waistband of Augustin Medina's pants when he detained him, the report states. Another deputy arrived on scene and with a K9 and performed an exterior sniff of the vehicle. A deputy advised that the K9 alerted positive to the scent of drugs coming from the vehicle.
Deputies looked in the back seat area and could see in plain view a silver revolver and a Glock semi-auto handgun. The revolver was on the rear passenger seat and the Glock was tucked in the storage pocket on the back of the front passenger's seat with the handle visible, the report states.
Both firearms were accessible by all occupants of the vehicle, the arrest report states. The revolver was loaded with a round in each cylinder. The Glock had a fully loaded magazine but did not have a round in the barrel. Both firearms were seized as evidence, the report states.
All six males were transported to the Sheriff's Office to be interviewed. The arrest report stated that all the individuals who were detained were wearing motorcycle gang affiliation shirts, sweatshirts and jewelry and two of the men had gang identifier tattoos on their necks.
CCSO's Special Enforcement Team interviewed all six individuals.
Also collected at the time the men were detained was preliminary breath tests, to which all of them complied. Due to the subjects levels of intoxication and presence of firearms either on their person or in their span of control, a search warrant was applied for and granted for evidentiary blood draws on all six males. The blood draws were booked into evidence.
Deputies reviewed video footage provided by a reporting party from his dash cam. The video shows all six males standing outside the bar and were wearing gang apparel. Then there was an unknown male who approached the men, and the group began fighting.
A firearm discharges and the unknown male runs away toward the parking lot of a casino. A short time later, more rounds of gunfire were heard and the group of six men start to walk toward the male who is in the casino parking lot. The video showed Miguel Moreno had a firearm in his hands and that he pointed it toward the unknown male. The group of men turn around back toward the Blue Bull and got into a Honda sedan, (the vehicle the sergeant attempted to stop).
A deputy made contact with two in the parking lot east of Blue Bull, Angel Grageda and Augustine Medina. Grageda then runs from a deputy and attempts to re-enter the Blue Bull but is pushed out by the bouncer. He runs westbound and gets into the Honda sedan with the other men. The sergeant arrives on scene and attempts to stop the sedan near the intersection of East Telegraph and North Carson Street. The vehicle flees from the sergeant northbound on North Carson.
The Sheriff's Office booking report notes that all of the individuals involved were wearing gang apparel or jewelry associated to a known motorcycle gang.
Due to the actions taken by the individuals as a group, the report states the men were acting in a manner that is consistent with a criminal street gang, noting that the unknown male confronted the group, got into a fight with the group, a firearm was discharged and the male fled. The group gathered and went after the male, with two of the individuals being in possession of firearms, Miguel Moreno and Augustine Medina.
All six were arrested for suspicion of felony prohibited person in possession of a firearm. Jhonatan Moreno was also booked for eluding and Augustine Medina for concealing a weapon without a permit. Each have $20,000 bail amounts.
All information for the crime log (unless otherwise noted) comes from the arrest reports supplied by the Carson City Sheriff's Office, and is considered by law to be public information. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The policy of Carson Now is to name anyone who is arrested for a felony offense.