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A 34-year-old Fallon man died early Thursday morning after he was shot by a friend in a dispute over moving a motorhome, police said.
Jason H. Taylor was pronounced dead at 8:03 a.m. by a doctor at Banner Churchill Community Hospital from gunshot wounds to the abdomen.
The suspect has been identified as Anthony Spina, 66, of Fallon. He is unemployed.
Churchill County Sheriff Richard Ingram said a 911 call came into the sheriff's dispatch center at 6:53 a.m. from 1970 Sprig Lane. Amy Allen, 49, told police her boyfriend had been shot. Ingram said Allen told investigators Spina was permitted to park his motorhome in front of the home where she and Taylor lived. The recreational vehicle was hooked up to the residence's electrical supply, and Spina was allowed to shower and cook in the Sprig Lane home, the sheriff said.
Allen has known the suspect for 15 years. She told investigators her relationship with him was platonic and that they shared a house at one time.
"Yesterday, the victim and (Allen) arrived at the decision they were going to ask the suspect to leave. She said there had been tensions," Ingram said Thursday. "This was supposed to be a temporary situation and he had been here several weeks."
Spina allegedly walked into the house with a cane while the Taylor and Allen were having their morning coffee.
"He starts swinging and hitting the victim while yelling and screaming at him," said Ingram. "The victim tried to defend himself, and begins retreating into a hallway. He tells the witness to call the cops because (Spina) has a gun."
The sheriff said Taylor was followed into a bathroom where he was shot three or possibly four times.
Allen reportedly told deputies she saw Spina leave the home carrying a gun.
When police arrived, said Ingram, the suspect was in the front yard. He was ordered to the ground so deputies could search him for weapons. Ingram said Spina told deputies he had thrown the gun into sagebrush that surrounds the modest blue house off Roberson Lane.
A Taurus .41-caliber revolver was found about 30 feet away on the east side of the residence, and Spina was taken into custody, Ingram said. He was booked into the Churchill County Jail on suspicion of murder, being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm and assault with a deadly weapon. He is being held without bail.
Spina was convicted in 2000 in Fallon of being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm after Fallon police found an arsenal of weapons and ammunition in Spina's home on East Park Street. He was initially charged with six counts of being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm.
He pleaded guilty to one count in a plea bargain agreement. At Spina's sentencing, District Judge Archie Blake suspended a sentence of 12 to 36 months in the Nevada State Prison and placed Spina on probation for three years.
The suspect was convicted of felony in Colorado in the 1970s and sentenced to 12 to 25 years in prison. The details on that offense were not immediately available.
Ingram said another man was found hiding in a closet in the house, but he was not linked to the shooting. Ingram estimated he was about 30 years-old. "During the course of all the commotion, he hid. He's not involved in this. He had been renting a room from (Allen)," he said.
An autopsy on Taylor is pending at the Washoe County Coroner's Office. Ingram said the autopsy will reveal the number of times he was allegedly shot.
Evidence collected at the scene, including the victim's clothing and the firearm, will be analyzed by the Washoe County Crime Lab.
"According to the witness, there was no confrontation this morning. The suspect walked in with a cane and pulled a gun," the sheriff said. "When asked if (Allen) had an opinion on why this occurred, she absolutely feels it was because he was asked to leave."
We don't know whether or not he overstayed his welcome and didn't take kindly to that." There was no evidence of substance abuse, he added, that might have contributed to the shooting.
This is the first homicide for the sheriff's office since 2004 when Devonya Camara of Sparks shot and killed her husband, David, on U.S. Highway 50 west of Fallon.
Jason H. Taylor was pronounced dead at 8:03 a.m. by a doctor at Banner Churchill Community Hospital from gunshot wounds to the abdomen.
The suspect has been identified as Anthony Spina, 66, of Fallon. He is unemployed.
Churchill County Sheriff Richard Ingram said a 911 call came into the sheriff's dispatch center at 6:53 a.m. from 1970 Sprig Lane. Amy Allen, 49, told police her boyfriend had been shot. Ingram said Allen told investigators Spina was permitted to park his motorhome in front of the home where she and Taylor lived. The recreational vehicle was hooked up to the residence's electrical supply, and Spina was allowed to shower and cook in the Sprig Lane home, the sheriff said.
Allen has known the suspect for 15 years. She told investigators her relationship with him was platonic and that they shared a house at one time.
"Yesterday, the victim and (Allen) arrived at the decision they were going to ask the suspect to leave. She said there had been tensions," Ingram said Thursday. "This was supposed to be a temporary situation and he had been here several weeks."
Spina allegedly walked into the house with a cane while the Taylor and Allen were having their morning coffee.
"He starts swinging and hitting the victim while yelling and screaming at him," said Ingram. "The victim tried to defend himself, and begins retreating into a hallway. He tells the witness to call the cops because (Spina) has a gun."
The sheriff said Taylor was followed into a bathroom where he was shot three or possibly four times.
Allen reportedly told deputies she saw Spina leave the home carrying a gun.
When police arrived, said Ingram, the suspect was in the front yard. He was ordered to the ground so deputies could search him for weapons. Ingram said Spina told deputies he had thrown the gun into sagebrush that surrounds the modest blue house off Roberson Lane.
A Taurus .41-caliber revolver was found about 30 feet away on the east side of the residence, and Spina was taken into custody, Ingram said. He was booked into the Churchill County Jail on suspicion of murder, being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm and assault with a deadly weapon. He is being held without bail.
Spina was convicted in 2000 in Fallon of being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm after Fallon police found an arsenal of weapons and ammunition in Spina's home on East Park Street. He was initially charged with six counts of being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm.
He pleaded guilty to one count in a plea bargain agreement. At Spina's sentencing, District Judge Archie Blake suspended a sentence of 12 to 36 months in the Nevada State Prison and placed Spina on probation for three years.
The suspect was convicted of felony in Colorado in the 1970s and sentenced to 12 to 25 years in prison. The details on that offense were not immediately available.
Ingram said another man was found hiding in a closet in the house, but he was not linked to the shooting. Ingram estimated he was about 30 years-old. "During the course of all the commotion, he hid. He's not involved in this. He had been renting a room from (Allen)," he said.
An autopsy on Taylor is pending at the Washoe County Coroner's Office. Ingram said the autopsy will reveal the number of times he was allegedly shot.
Evidence collected at the scene, including the victim's clothing and the firearm, will be analyzed by the Washoe County Crime Lab.
"According to the witness, there was no confrontation this morning. The suspect walked in with a cane and pulled a gun," the sheriff said. "When asked if (Allen) had an opinion on why this occurred, she absolutely feels it was because he was asked to leave."
We don't know whether or not he overstayed his welcome and didn't take kindly to that." There was no evidence of substance abuse, he added, that might have contributed to the shooting.
This is the first homicide for the sheriff's office since 2004 when Devonya Camara of Sparks shot and killed her husband, David, on U.S. Highway 50 west of Fallon.
