Carson City man suspected of being under influence of whippets in hit and run crash
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Thu, 08/20/2020 - 9:59am
A 35-year-old Carson City man was booked Wednesday for suspicion of hit and run causing injury, DUI drugs, failure to render aid and failure to maintain a lane of travel, a sheriff's booking report states.
Joseph Nicholas Piasentin was taken into custody at 5 p.m. in the 300 block of West Nye following a hit and run crash that happened near the intersection of North Carson Street and Arrowhead Drive.
According to the arrest report, officers were called to the crash in which the suspect vehicle, a black pickup, had fled the scene eastbound on Arrowhead. Deputies arrived and observed the crash and the vehicles involved. The driver of one of the victim vehicle's advised they felt dizzy and nauseous but declined medical treatment. Both victim vehicles required towing from the scene.
While on scene dispatch advised a witness observed the suspect vehicle and followed them to the 300 block of West Nye, where the vehicle parked.
A deputy arrived to the location and observed a single occupant in the truck, which had significant front-end damage and also appeared to have glass from one of the victim vehicles on its hood, the report states.
The driver was seated in the driver's seat. The vehicle was off with the keys in the ignition. The driver had a silver canister in his hands, which the deputy recognized as a device for pressurized whipped cream, also known as "whippets," which is a form of inhalant used as a recreational drug.
The driver appeared altered and under the influence of an unknown controlled substance. The deputy asked the man why he didn't stop at the scene of the crash. The man advised he did but wanted to find a safer place to stop so he drove to the current location.
The officer told the defendant that he was seen not stopping and that he fled the scene. The man then advised that after the crash he left the scene looking for a better location and intended to call law enforcement, the report states.
The deputy asked what he was doing with the canister. The man advised it was for his oxygen. It appeared he was inhaling the CO2 gas from the container, the arrest report states. The deputy asked the man if he would submit to standardized field sobriety tests. The man advised he would and during the medical screening portion, the man advised he smoked marijuana a day prior.
Deputies observed clues of impairment on the field sobriety tests. The deputy's arrest report stated that based on his observations, he believed the suspect was under the influence at the time of the crash, and the cause of him leaving his lane of travel. The man was arrested for suspicion of DUI drugs, and hit and run with injury.
The deputy conducted an inventory for tow and discovered approximately 30 to 40 empty CO2 canisters for the whippets canister the man was allegedly using. There was a box of unused canisters also located. The officer tested the whippets canister and discovered it was under pressure and had no substance other than gas in it. The deputy also located a marijuana pipe in the glovebox of the vehicle, the report states.
The man consented to a blood draw at Carson Tahoe Hospital and was then taken to jail without incident. Bail: $40,000.
In other arrests:
— A 37-year-old Gardnerville man turned himself in and was booked for a violation of a suspended sentence warrant. Bail: $3,000.
— 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.
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