washoe county

An Incline Village man is behind bars Friday after being involved in a two-hour standoff with deputies from the Washoe County Sheriff's Office at a residence on Winding Way.

At 10:45 a.m., deputies were called out to the home on a call of a family disturbance, and that 28-year-old Shane Donovan had barricaded himself in a bedroom and was acting extremely erratically.

Donovan voiced threats against himself and law enforcement officers on the scene. He further indicated that he may have rigged the entry way to the room with explosives.

The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office received a number of reports this week from persons who say they received phone calls from someone claiming to be from the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office and stating that the potential victim has “law enforcement issues” which need to be taken care of financially.

Dr. Thomas Barker of Aptos, Calif. has been identified at the man found buried in snow at Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe on Sunday, the apparent victim of an avalanche the previous day.

The 64-year-old Barker was an ear, nose and throat specialist with a practice in Santa Cruz.

A winter weather advisory is in affect for the Lake Tahoe basin until 10:00 a.m. Thursday. New accumulations of 2-5" at lake levels, and 5-10" above.

There are chain controls up over most areas as of 9:00 p.m. Wednesday. Snow will turn to rain after 10:00 a.m. Thursday.

US 50 over Echo Summit from Meyers to Fred's Place: Chains or traction devices are required on all vehicles except four wheel / all wheel drive vehicles with snow treaded tires on all wheels.

US 50 from Stateline to Carson City: Chains or Snow Tires Required.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just days away. As the excitement of the holiday shopping season builds, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office offers some tips that will help everyone have a successful day, as long as they focus on personal safety.

Here are some tips to keep in mind before heading out to the stores:

First and foremost, stay alert. Do not get so caught up in the shopping frenzy that you lose awareness of your surroundings. Report suspicious activity to law enforcement or store security.

9:45 p.m. update Sunday: Chains are now mandatory on all vehicles except 4-Wheel drive with snow tires on US 50 over Echo and Spooner Summits, the Mt. Rose Hwy, SR267 and Donner Summit on I-80. At this time there are no controls over Kingsbury Grade.

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Snow is starting to stick on roads around Lake Tahoe, a sight for sore eyes who have been waiting for the return of the ski season.

As of 7:00 p.m. Saturday, chain controls are up on all mountain passes:

Chain controls are up on area roads this morning after the passing of a small storm overnight.

As of 7:00 a.m. Tuesday:
Highway 50 over Echo Summit: Chains or traction devices are required on all vehicles except four wheel / all wheel drive vehicles with snow treaded tires on all wheels from Meyers to Twin Bridges.

10/16/16 update 7:00PM - The Little Valley Fire is holding at 3,400 acres with 55 percent containment. 667 personnel remain on the incident. More rain forecast tonight which will aid in extinguishing the fire which started on Friday.

22 residences and 17-outbuildings were destroyed with 480 homes saved in the direct vicinity of the fire. Multiple structures remain under threat until 100-percent containment has been achieved.

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10:00PM update - Current acreage burned in the Little Valley Fire has been revised at 3,400 acres with 20 percent containment this evening.

2016 is the 26th year that the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency has handed out its "Best in the Basin" award for projects in the Lake Tahoe basin that demonstrate exceptional planning and implementation and compatibility with Lake Tahoe’s environment and communities.

During Wednesday's TRPA board meeting in Kings Beach, the nine winners for the year were honored.

The City of South Lake Tahoe was one of those recipients for the Bijou Bike Park project, a collaborative effort between the City and Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association.

When an inmate attempted to take his life earlier this year by throwing himself over a balcony with a makeshift rope around his neck, Detention Facility Deputy Michel Eubanks literally flew to the rescue, bounding up the stairs to make the rescue with the help of three inmate work crew members.

The victim in the August 7 fire in Incline Village has been identified as a 19-year-old man about to start his sophomore year at San Francisco State.

Here is some news to take a little “paws” with...introducing the newest trainee on the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District team, Gunner. He is a member of the Tahoe Douglas Explosive Ordinance Disposal team and, once he completes his training, will join six other dogs as canine resources for the Northern Nevada Bomb Technicians Task Force.

The other EOD dogs are from UNR-Police Department, Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, Reno Police Department, and three from Reno Airport TSA.

Fifteen officers from three Northern Nevada agencies recently completed "Operation Safe Streets," putting them in touch with dozens of high risk offenders in the Carson City, Douglas County, Washoe County and Lyon County areas.

Nevada Department of Public Safety- Division of Parole and Probation in collaboration with the Carson City Sheriff’s Office, and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office made the contacts on July 29 and July 30, resulting in 11 arrests.

Three people have been identified as "persons of interest" by the Washoe County Sheriff's Office in connection to an investigation of human remains found in a burnt vehicle off State Route 447 on Thursday night.

The men have been identified as Shannon Miller, Shawn Miller and Corey Massengale, all from the Silver Spring area of Lyon County.

A driver of a minivan that was headed to a closed Reno Street full of pedestrians on Saturday was shot and killed by a police officer on foot.

The incident began at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 3 when a Reno Police Department Motor Unit attempted to make a traffic stop on a silver minivan in the area on Kuenzli Street and E. 2nd Street. The minivan failed to yield, proceeding west toward downtown Reno.

The Washoe County Sheriff's Department is asking for the public's assistance in identifying two suspects who burlgarized a Mogul, Nevada home on Friday, June 10, stealing multiple weapons.

Nobody was home at the time, a fact that was verified by the suspects first knocking on the door. Entry was gained through a back door.

Both suspects are described as light-skinned males in their early-to mid-20s, driving a late 1990s to ealry 2000s Pontiac four-door sedan.

Anyone having information is asked to contact the Washoe County Sheriff's Detective's Office at 775-328-3320.

The organizers of the annual Burning Man Festival just purchased a ranch near Gerlach, Nevada, a place that has the potential to become home to year-round art and self expression activities.

Burning Man Project has purchased Fly Ranch, 3,800 acres of land located twenty-one miles north of Gerlach in Washoe County.

A 32-year-old Joshua Albericci of Gardnerville has been arrested on multiple charges stemming from his alledged assault and kidnapping of his 29-year-old wife.

Deputies from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office responded to the report of a domestic dispute in the Gardnerville Ranchos area of the county on April 27, 2016 at 10:45 a.m. When they arrived at the home in the 800 block of Short Court, they learned that the victim had fled to a neighbor's home after being physically assaulted by her husband.

A Washoe County Sheriff’s Deputy investigating the recent phone scam of an elderly Sun Valley woman worked with the United States Postal Inspection Service and Royal Canadian Mounted Police to recover $9,000 in losses for the victim. The details of this case provide important warning signs for all residents.

With the return of road improvement projects along Lake Tahoe and other Nevada roads, the Nevada Department of Transportation and Nevada Highway Patrol are reminding motorist to drive safely in road work zones, not only during this week which is National Work Zone Awareness Week, but all year long.

From July 1, 2014 to July 1, 2015, there were 166 crashes in Washoe County work zones, resulting in 53 injuries and two fatalities. Statewide in Nevada, these numbers were significantly hire during the same periord: 1020 crashes, 612 injuries and 12 fatalities.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board released their figures for the month of February, 2016, they show Stateline casinos bringing in $16,173,829, which is up 3.84 percent from the same period in 2015.

For the fiscal year, the South Shore is still below the previous year by 5.46 percent.

When reviewing the whole state of Nevada, several regions showed double-digit gains, led by the non-Reno areas of Washoe County, which had a gain on 19.71 percent. All of Clark County had a gain on the previous year, led by the downtown and North Las Vegas areas.

4:30 p.m. update: The name of the male taken into custody is 23-year-old Dominic Gonzalez from Newark, Calif. Gonzalez is currently being held at the Washoe County Jail on a felony charge for possession of stolen property as well as reckless driving, driving without a driver’s license, fail to stop at the scene of an accident, fail to give information to party at accident and failure to obey a peace officer.
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The Nevada Department of Public Safety, Office of Traffic Safety’s Zero teen Fatalities program hosted a state wide contest where Nevada High School students had the opportunity to design an original billboard for Zero teen Fatalities featuring a safe driving message. Topics for the safe driving message included: aggressive driving, impaired driving, distracted driving & seat belts.

Entries were judged on the following criteria:
1. Overall Message (30%)
2. Creativity (30%)
3. Social Impact (20%)
4. Entertainment Value (20%)

The Nevada Gaming Control Board released their figures for the month of December, 2015 and they show Stateline casinos bringing in $17,950,675 which is 12.56 percent up from the same period in 2014.

For the fiscal year, the South Shore is still below the previous year by 8.30 percent.

When reviewing the whole state of Nevada, Stateline casinos led all others with gains for the month. The biggest percentage loss was experienced in small, non-Reno, Sparks, North Lake Tahoe casinos in Washoe County which saw income from gaming down 15.74 percent.