A wanted man fled a traffic stop in the 2000 block of Kleppe Lane in Sparks, Nevada, on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, then drove at a Sparks officer standing outside a patrol vehicle. The Sparks Police Department released this Critical Incident Community Briefing on Thursday, September 24, 2026. The account below is the department’s own.
At approximately 9:26 a.m., Sparks police officers conducted a traffic stop on a known wanted suspect in the 2000 block of Kleppe Lane. The department says he was wanted for a felony battery with a deadly weapon shooting that occurred recently in another jurisdiction. He was driving a pickup truck towing a flatbed trailer.
He stopped in a business parking lot, then drove off at high speed as officers got out, into a gated area and behind an outbuilding, striking the building.
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At around 9:27 a.m., he accelerated at a high rate of speed toward a Sparks police officer who was standing outside a patrol vehicle. The officer moved out of the vehicle’s path to avoid being struck and fired at the suspect, who continued driving past the officer. The vehicle then struck a fence and an occupied Reno Police Department patrol vehicle, injuring that officer.
He continued fleeing, turned westbound onto Kleppe Lane, and officers initiated a vehicle pursuit. Near North McCarran Boulevard and Victorian Avenue he got out of the vehicle while it was still moving and ran. The unoccupied vehicle rolled on and struck two occupied civilian vehicles. The department says those occupants were not injured.
At approximately 9:34 a.m., he was taken into custody in the 100 block of East Victorian Avenue. He was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and later booked into the Washoe County detention facility.
The department identifies him as a 38-year-old Battle Mountain resident. He was charged with battery with the use of a deadly weapon on a police officer, assault with the use of a deadly weapon on a police officer, obstructing and resisting with a deadly weapon, and eluding. The department says additional charges may be applied.
The regional officer-involved shooting protocol is investigating, alongside an internal use-of-force review. The case goes to the Washoe County District Attorney.
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