Accomplice in Saturday's Carson City Jail escape in custody
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Mon, 06/28/2021 - 5:52pm
The man accused of helping two Carson City inmates escape from jail on Saturday is now in custody, according to the Carson City Sheriff's Office.
Austin Wayne Rivers was taken into custody without incident and is being booked at the Carson City Jail. Escaped inmate Cody J. Abernathy remains at large.
According to a Carson City Sheriff's Office news release from earlier Monday, at 6:43 p.m. on June 26, two Carson City Detention inmates escaped from the jail during an inmate work program detail. Inmates Matthew R. Marizza, 27, and Cody J. Abernathy, 28, were reported running from the outside trash receptacle area by the detail civilian supervisor.
Surveillance systems disclosed the inmates got into a white mini-van and fled east on Fifth Street. At 6:44 p.m., a responding patrol deputy reported having seen the suspect vehicle on Fifth Street near Hells Bells Road.
The vehicle was located at 6:51 p.m., however the occupants had already fled on foot. Intense searches into the night failed to locate the inmates and the searches in the area of Carson River were called off late in the evening.
Retake warrants were issued for the arrests of both inmates. When Marizza was booked into the jail on May 8, he listed a Sparks home address on Oakwood Drive. When Abernathy was booked into the jail on June 3, he listed a Douglas County residence on Kimmerling Road.
Marizza was set to appear in Carson City Justice Court on July 7 for theft charges with a $5,000 bail. Abernathy was set to appear in Carson City Justice Court on June 30 for drug and weapons charges with a $10,000 bail. He also was set to appear in District Court on July 6.
On June 26, the registered owner to the vehicle used by the escaping inmates was contacted. Austin Wayne Rivers, 30, was contacted and interviewed by detectives. He originally claimed to have abandoned the vehicle.
However, it was determined that Rivers had been taken into custody by Carson City Sheriff’s Deputies on June 25 for misdemeanor warrants. While he was detained at the jail, Rivers had been housed with Marizza and Abernathy in the same detention area. It was determined that Rivers bailed out of jail just hours earlier on the day of the escape and that his vehicle was pre-positioned outside the back area of the jail (where the inmates fled from).
On June 27, a warrant for the arrest of Rivers was issued by the Carson City Justice Court for “Aid Felony Prisoner to Escape” with bail set at $200,000. Warrants for Marizza and Abernathy were also issued for the escape with bail also set at $200,000.
Several additional persons of interest are being interviewed to determine the level of participation. Additional arrests may be anticipated.
During the morning of Sunday, June 27, the Carson City Sheriff’s Office was contacted by Sacramento, Calif., Sheriff’s Office. Their agency, along with others, were involved in a high speed pursuit with a vehicle registered to a Carson City business. The occupants of the vehicle had eluded capture after crashing into a ditch, but their descriptions were similar to the two escape inmates from Carson City. The vehicle was later reported stolen by the registered owner in Carson.
Carson City Sheriff’s detectives and Sacramento Police and Sheriff’s Office are investigating the theft of the Ford pickup truck. It has been determined that the vehicle was likely stolen on the evening of June 26 from the area of the where the inmates were last seen.
Sunday evening, Carson City detectives provided the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office with information of a likely area where one of the inmates might be located. Inmate Marizza was found by Sheriff’s Deputies within the hour, but required immediate life-saving medical attention. Marizza was treated at a local hospital and later taken into custody and book into the Sacramento County Jail. Carson City deputies were sent to California and assigned to assist authorities in Sacramento.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
