Professor Glotfelty's Class

The Biggest Crimes in the Littlest City in the World

by Travis Houston

 

Change: a paradoxical concept that will never succumb to itself. The clock ticks away with each changing second. Makeup and workout routines cannot halt one’s aging body and mind. Political authority shifts, parties take turns in seats of power, and regimes rise and fall. While this beast forces almost every aspect of this world to obey its will, crime proves to be a worthy contender. Criminal activity on this planet scars the past, devastates the present, and lingers in the future. Not one place on this Earth, aside from those lands undiscovered and uninhabited by mankind, has eliminated the threat of crime. This formidable opponent battles with law enforcement agencies, governments, and regular civilians on a day-to-day basis, winning and losing. Reno, with a population of 225,221 individuals according to the 2010 census, confirms its title as “The Biggest Little City in the World.” Like many other highly condensed and populated municipalities, Reno is subject to an element of big crime. As a student aspiring to become a prosecutor, I have included court battles, which occur behind the scenes and out of the lime light, and unique elements of property crime and theft in this city of transients

 

Famous Felons

 

Sinister Sechrest

 

The murders of two young Reno girls shook Reno to its core in the early 1980’s. Doris Schindler hired her neighbor Zella Weaver to babysit her daughter, Maggie, in April of 1983. Mrs. Weaver spent weekday afternoons and evenings with Maggie, as well as picked “Maggie up from the Meadowood Ice Arena” on Saturdays (Sechrest v State). The plan for May 14, 1983 was for another neighbor to drop Maggie and her friend Carly Villa off at Meadowood and for Mrs. Weaver to pick them up. Upon arrival, Mrs. Weaver could not find the girls anywhere, which sparked the investigation. Zella Weaver’s grandson Ricky Sechrest lived with her at the time and knew his grandmother’s babysitting schedule. Sechrest confessed that after “he tricked the girls into his car…he drove them to [Lagomarsino Canyon],” just east of Sparks ("Death Sentence Overturned").

 

It is unclear as to what exactly happened in the time they were up in the hills. KLAS-TV claims that “one of the girls panicked and he hit her with a shovel. Thinking she was dead, he then murdered the other girl.” He beat and killed the first girl after he realized that she lived from the first bludgeoning. In the Sechrest v State opinion, it states that Sechrest admitted “that they were walking around the hills rock hunting when Carly fell over backward and hit her head.” With no pulse, she was assumed dead by Sechrest and Maggie, who began to run in fear. The man chased down the ten-year-old and “hit her over the back of the head with a rock” multiple times even after she fell (Sechrest v State). Sechrest retrieved a shovel from his car and returned to Carly, who he thought was still alive. He proceeded to “hit her ‘once or twice’ in the head with the edge of the shovel” to make sure she was dead (Sechrest v State). Then the girls were buried under loose dirt. Sechrest claims “that he performed an act of masturbation on Maggie’s body” after she died (Sechrest v State).

 

Despite the conflict between the story and the supposed confession, Ricky Sechrest was convicted of two counts of first degree murder and two counts of first degree kidnapping. Professor Pamela Everett is an Assistant Professor in the Criminal Justice Department at University of Nevada, Reno. Having lived through some of these crimes during her childhood in the area, she was able to offer insight on and knowledge of some cases. She recalled “the chill in this town. I remember how horrified people were that this fairly young guy could just pick [the girls] up under the guise of being a neighbor and somebody they knew and then take them up and do this.” Sechrest appeared to be a normal guy who lived his life accordingly. This crime displays the phenomena that anyone is subject to being a criminal.

 

The murderer used his right to appeal multiple times on the grounds that the trial was unfair and that his lawyer did nothing to uphold his constitutional rights. Sechrest finally got a chance to plead his case in Sechrest v Ignacio. During the voir dire process and closing arguments, District Attorney Mills Lane made false statements about current Nevada laws. He pleaded with the jury that “if you say life in prison without parole, that doesn’t mean that the pardons board can’t let him out” (Sechrest v Ignacio). He implied the laws of Nevada allowed for the State Board of Pardon to refuse any sentence established by a jury. Sechrest’s defense attorney made no comment about these statements and did not object to the use of Dr. Gerow as a witness during the penalty phase of the trial. Sechrest’s right to privacy and a fair trial was violated as a result of Dr. Gerow’s testimony about the confidential information shared at Sechrest’s psychiatric evaluation during the penalty phase of the trial. On December 5, 2008 the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that Sechrest’s Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to a fair trial, a fair representation by counsel, and due process had been violated. The court reversed in part the original decision and demanded for Sechrest to be sentenced fairly and appropriately. Now he sits in Ely State Prison.

 

Deadly Divorce

 

“Divorce is a business” that has thrived in Reno; those seeking refuge “from matrimonial conflict have fled” their home states “for easy divorce” in this city (Prosser 290). The separation of Darren Mack and his wife resulted, however, in blood and murder. “Charla Mack had filed for divorce in 2005,” and Family Court Judge Chuck Weller presided over the case (Chereb). Professor Everett asserted that the general consensus about him was that “Weller was a complete jerk, very hard on husbands,” and tended to favor women in these particular cases. While the parties were granted “temporary joint physical and legal custody” of their daughter Erika, Darren received the raw deal in the end. Judge Weller ruled that Darren was “required to pay $849 in child support per month,” “$10,000 per month in interim spousal support,” and cover the bills of the marital home that Charla won possession of (Charla M. Mack v Darren R. Mack). The ex-wife had no obligation to provide any monetary contributions since she was not employed during her marriage to Darren. He provided all the financial aid for his family with his ownership of a thriving local pawn shop, Palace Jewelry and Loan.

Most people can agree that Judge Weller did not determine this verdict fairly. Darren did not take this decision very well. In June 2006, Charla arrived at his home to drop off their daughter but did not leave alive. The ex-wife’s body was examined by a pathologist that claimed the cause of death to be “at least seven different stab wounds, including one to the neck near the collarbone” (Chereb). In Professor Everett’s words, the murder was done “OJ-style.” To provide a valid alibi, Darren “goes to have coffee with a friend” immediately after the incident (Everett). Professor Everett claims that this friend believed that “‘everything was normal. He seemed completely calm. I would have never known that anything had happened.’” He had no knowledge of Darren’s actions previous to their encounter or of the remainder of Darren’s plot to seek vengeance. According to Professor Everett, the angry pawn shop owner then “drove to a parking garage next to the Silver Peak” and parked on the fourth floor. From that spot he could see the window of Judge Weller’s chambers. Darren “was a known marksmen and a part owner of a shooting range in Fallon,” Professor Everett stated. With a high-powered rifle, Darren fired into the courthouse. Weller and his assistant were “struck by fragments of a bullet” but lived (Chereb).

           

Professor Everett stated that after having completed “his tasks laid out on a to-do list,” Darren chose to “drive over the hill, toss his cell phone out the window, and head for Sacramento.” Investigators found his car in the airport parking garage and later found that he had “fled to Mexico” to escape his crimes and the death penalty (Chereb). With his face plastered everywhere on America’s Most Wanted list, Darren decided to make a phone call to his friend, Washoe County District Attorney Dick Gammick. “‘I killed Charla, but it was in self-defense…You know me. If I wanted Judge Weller dead, he’d be dead” (“Killings in ‘the biggest little city’”). Supposedly the Reno businessman was willing to give himself up on two conditions. He wanted to receive the death penalty and “to make sure that he [had] an opportunity to tell his story” (“Killings in ‘the biggest little city’”). Eleven days of the manhunt passed before Darren surrendered “to the FBI at a beachfront hotel in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico” (“Killings in ‘the biggest little city’”). Professor Everett claimed that the death penalty was taken off the table in order for the extradition process to go smoothly.

           

The Darren Mack trial was split into two parts that coincided with the different sets of lawyers representing the defense. This trial resembled a roller coaster ride from start to finish. In the first section, Scott Freeman and David Chesnoff “steered Darren away from his death penalty demands and he pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder” (“Killings in ‘the biggest little city’”). The defense lawyers began by painting Charla as “a kind of terrorist, torturing Darren with demands for money and custody” and someone who inflicted physical and psychological damage upon Darren (“Killings in ‘the biggest little city’”). Fearing for his life, the husband bought a knife to defend himself from the knife threats Charla imposed upon him. “It would be a knife verses knife. That would qualify for legal self-defense,” Freeman argued (“Killings in ‘the biggest little city’”). When Charla arrived that day to drop off their daughter, Darren informed her of his decision to appeal the court ruling Judge Weller had come to. An altercation arose, causing “a gun Darren had always carried around for protection” to fall to the ground (“Killings in ‘the biggest little city’”). Freeman described that “Charla [looked] at the gun, [pulled] the hammer back, [smiled], and [fired],” but did not receive the result she was looking for due to a misfire (“Killings in ‘the biggest little city’”). Another altercation ensued, ending in Darren stabbing Charla. Next Freeman and Chesnoff attempted to disregard the “to-do list” theorem, stating “Darren was out of his mind and simply scribbled the list as a way to help him organize his thoughts” (“Killings in ‘the biggest little city’”). The fight with Charla “triggered a long simmering delusional state in Darren,” convincing him to believe that he had the right to shoot Judge Weller under the Second Amendment (“Killings in ‘the biggest little city’”). The defense was on a roll and planned to bring forth expert witnesses to testify in favor of the likeliness that Darren had a mental disorder. An unexpected turn presented itself when the defendant agreed to a plea deal: parole after 20 years in prison.

 

That mistake began the second section of the trial, in which Darren fired his lawyers and hired William Routsis to help him get out of this mess. The defendant claimed that he took the deal under the assumption he would not serve life in prison and “finally be able to tell the world his story at sentencing” (“Killings in ‘the biggest little city’”). Once he realized the latter was not going to happen, Darren wanted to withdraw his guilty plea. Routsis argued that his client’s “former attorneys…launched an all out assault on [Darren’s] psyche” (“Killings in ‘the biggest little city’”). The defendant’s current girlfriend, Alecia Biddison, agreed that his lawyers ruined his case by arguing insanity and self-defense simultaneously when one cannot exist if the other does and vice versa. When Freeman and Chesnoff took the stand, Darren’s fate was sealed. They both confirmed that Darren willingly signed the agreement and that the search for the gun discharged during the altercation was not worth looking for. Darren had thrown it out of his car, which Freeman viewed as “inconsistent with self-defense” and “consistent with premeditation” (“Killings in ‘the biggest little city’”).

           

KOLO 8 News Now reported that Darren was sentenced to life in prison by District Judge Douglas Herndon. The judge “cited the heinous nature of the crimes and Mack's lack of remorse” (Chereb). When the case was finished, Judge Herndon shared some words of advice with those affected by the crimes. He “issued an emotional plea for Mack's family and his wife's survivors to ‘be a bigger person’ for the sake of the couple's 9-year-old daughter” (Chereb). 

 

Cable Cop

 

One Reno serial killer gave a bad name to law enforcement officers and to everyday service workers. Jeff Kaye, a former sergeant that served with Reno Police Department, documented the story of this ex-cop turned bad in his book Beware of the Cable Guy. (Kaye uses an asterisk to differ between real names and pseudonyms used in his book, so the same will be done in this paper.)

 

Detectives Dave Jenkins and John Douglas served as the head investigators on the entire case, which was believed to begin on February 11, 1995 when a call came in concerning “a dead body found in a dumpster” located at the Southwest Village Apartments (Kaye 1). This particular dumpster was scheduled to be emptied the following morning, meaning the killer knew the body would be long gone if no one discovered it. The body belonged to Katherine Powell, “a forty-five-year-old elementary school teacher who had been missing for eight days” (Kaye 19). “Her hands were tied tightly in front of her” with white rope (Kaye 16). The bindings ran between her legs, “wrapped around her ankles,” and “looped around her neck” (Kaye 16).  The last time someone made contact with her was at 7:30 P.M. Friday, February 3rd when she spoke with her Pittsburg boyfriend, Don Barley; no one tried contacting her again until 6:30 A.M. Saturday, February 4th when her cousin, Russ Davis, was making sure she was ready for their skiing trip that day. Two of the deceased’s neighbors recalled seeing “an older model pickup truck” sitting in front of Powell’s home around 4:00 A.M. on Saturday, February 4th (Kaye 52).

 

Detective Dave Wood found that Powell’s credit card had been used to purchase an item over the phone from Good Guys Electronics Store at 2:36 P.M. on Sunday, February 5th. This person sounded like a man trying to disguise his voice as a woman’s. In the afternoon of the following day, “‘a white female with blonde hair wearing a yellow windbreaker’” and “‘so much make up she looked like a clown’” claimed to be the courier service scheduled to pick up the item and deliver it (Kaye 46). She was driving a 1972 International Harvester.

 

The break in the case came from a note left on Powell’s front door.  A T.C.I. Cable Company repairman had left the note on the front door, which Powell apparently never used, saying the person had come by but no one was home. The truck used to pick up the merchandise at the electronics store was found in the cable company’s employee parking lot. This truck also matched the descriptions of the truck parked in front of her house early Saturday morning given by Powell’s neighbor. After running the plates, it was determined that car belonged to David Middleton and Evonne Haley, the woman with the bad make up job.

 

What makes this case monumental is the history of David Middleton. He was a Police Cadet at the Boston Police Department for two years and moved to the rank of officer with Miami Metro-Dade Police. Middleton was charged with kidnapping a teenage girl and raping her in his unmarked police car in 1990. His resigned rather than terminated status with the police, along with his early release on amended charges of false imprisonment and sexual battery, caused much controversy with and suspicion of the case. Once released, Middleton and his family moved to Montrose, Colorado. His appearance on June 25, 1993 seemed to correlate with the disappearances of fourteen-year-old Cindy Booth on August 4, 1993 and eighteen-year-old newlywed Buffy Rice. After much controversy, Middleton and his family skipped town in April 1994 and stayed in Reno. All of the victims, including Powell, were “‘petite in height and weight,’” were white, and had long hair (Kaye 98). After examining Middleton’s personal information and the perpetrator’s motive, the detectives realized they were dealing with a “‘dominant sociopath who is into kidnap and bondage’” (Kaye 98).

 

During the search of Middleton’s apartment, one thing turned up: a Remington 870 Wingmaster .12 gauge pump shotgun. This same gun was mentioned to be seen in an altercation between Middleton and Buffy’s mother in Montrose. Middleton was arrested “‘for being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm’” (Kaye 115). Two more women, a Suzanne Atkinson* and a Tina Bronson*, claimed to have interacted with Middleton on a personal level and matched the pattern of Middleton’s choice of prey. Middleton had sex with the latter and revealed his preference in condoms, which happened to match the brand found at Powell’s condo.

 

After speaking with the public defender, Middleton still asked to speak with the detectives. He wanted a cap on his sentence in exchange for his statement concerning “his drug use, involvement with the fraudulent use of Kathy Powell’s credit card, grand larceny and unlawful disposal of human remains” (Kaye 139). When Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick refused to reason with him, Middleton agreed to the interview anyways. During those nine and a half hours, Middleton discussed that he had consensual sex with Powell after having done work on the cable in her house and being invited into the home as a guest multiple times. When he returned to the home after a run to the store for more vodka, Middleton found Powell bound with the same rope she was found with in the dumpster and dead. He explained that “she was into some different kinds of sex and had apparently bound herself while he was gone” (Kaye 145). Middleton panicked and disposed of the body.

 

How well Middleton stuck to his story convinced the detectives that they were working with “a textbook sociopath” (Kaye 147). Since he knew the interview was being recorded, Middleton threw in some lies about one of the detectives calling Reno the “Mississippi of the West” and claimed he would not get a fair trial. The killer was covering his tracks well, but an anonymous tip sent the detectives in search of something they had been dying to find: a storage unit. Middleton had a key for one on his key ring, and since his cars and apartment lacked any evidence linked to Powell, the detectives suspected a piece of the puzzle was missing. “Middleton and Haley were associated with a company named Hal-Data,” and the informant delivered a piece of mail with a return address for Sierra Royal Mini Storage to their apartment (Kaye 162-163).

           

At the storage unit facility, the detectives found that Middleton was “the owner of Hal-Data Research,” which rented storage unit #16-28 (Kaye 164). Inside the storage unit, the detectives found a few pieces of damning evidence. The first was the yellow windbreaker worn by Haley when she picked up the merchandise purchased illegally with Powell’s credit card. Next to that was an unopened box containing the previously mentioned merchandise. Then the detectives examined a refrigerator’s interior that had been altered in a chilling fashion: a hole had been cut to connect the freezer component with the rest of the refrigerator. “The opening was the right size for a human neck” and was covered by blue cloth that matched with the fibers found on Powell’s neck during her autopsy (Kaye 168). This frozen prison was made to conceal human bodies, specifically Powell’s. A pulley system ran throughout the room, suspected to be “used to suspend a human body” (Kaye 169). Replicas of the Warp’s Brothers Banana Bag, the Ace Hardware black plastic bag, and the white rope used to contain and bind Powell’s body were found in addition to “Powell’s answering machine, cordless phone, computer printer and portable computer” (Kaye 170). An assortment of sexual items was also discovered alongside a machete and two handguns.

 

What evidence classified Middleton as a serial rapist were the “thirty-seven pairs of panties, thirteen bras and six negligees” he collected from his victims and the homes he visited as a cable guy and a former carpet cleaner (Kaye 173). The detectives still needed more to arrest Middleton for murdering Powell. On April 9, 1995, James Warner* and his Golden Retriever, Nugget, were playing fetch in Dog Valley when Nugget brought back “a human femur bone” instead of a stick (Kaye 196). Warner followed the dog to a shallow grave of a female skeleton with black hair still attached to the skull; this person was partially enclosed in a sleeping bag and bound with white rope, just like Powell. “Washoe County Coroner Vernon McCarty positively identified the skeletal remains as Thelma Davila,” who disappeared on the same day Middleton transferred into a larger storage unit (Kaye 202). Her hair also matched the hair found in Middleton’s storage unit. A similar skeleton was found “in a rural area of Colorado about fifty miles east of Montrose;” this female’s death fell in the time frame of Middleton’s residence there (Kaye 214). On May 24, 1995, a woman hiking through the hills of Norwood, Colorado “unearthed the remains of Buffy Rice-Donohue” (Kaye 236).

 

Middleton was finally “placed under arrest for two counts of murder in the first degree, two counts of kidnap and charges of credit card fraud” (Kaye 301). Evonne Haley was also arrested and charged “with one count each of burglary, fraudulent use of a credit card and possession of stolen property” on October 27, 1995 (Kaye 342). She was found guilty on all charges in May of the following year. Middleton’s trial did not begin until August 11, 1997 due to the defense’s attempts to appeal the decision to have a trial. The jury had their verdict completed on August 26, 1997: guilty of all charges. Still awaiting execution on death row, David Middleton was the only cop that ever became a serial killer in history. 

 

Regular Reno

 

Aside from the largely publicized murderers and serial rapists, Reno contains unique aspects of crime. Tourists and transients are drawn to the city for its casinos and chances to get rich quick. Charles Clement, the current Director of Residential Life Student Conduct and Safety at the University of Nevada, Reno, used to work with campus police and therefore has knowledge of crime patterns in Reno’s past. He claims that “transients flock to the city in hopes of making it big but end up losing everything.” These devastated hopefuls join others trying to make the best of poverty, which usually results in committing crimes. Clement has found that the property crime rate stands above all others. “Tourists carry large amounts of money around without thinking there is a huge target on their backs,” Clement stated.

           

In "Impact of Casinos on Criminogenic Patterns," Emmanuel Barthe and B. Grant Stitt study the long-held consideration of casinos creating hotspots for crime. They agree with Clement that “when casinos are located in tourist venues, the patrons are often relaxed and let down their guard in the laidback vacation atmosphere” (Barthe and Stitt 257). Alcohol offered by casinos hinders one’s ability to fight back in any kind of robbery or mugging. “Gamblers who have sustained big losses and are desperate to recoup those losses” may take part in any opportunity presented to them, including criminal activity (Barthe and Stitt 257). Reno’s standing as a smaller version of Vegas makes its residents and visitors much more susceptible to these crimes created by the gambling environment.

             

When traveling through or living in Reno, one should have a reasonable level of caution. Serial rapists and murderers appear across the globe in random locations, so the only way to avoid becoming a victim of their acts of violence is to be aware of one’s surroundings. The same advice applies for evading property crime and theft, but this feat is obtained more easily: stay in well-lit areas when outside, walk with one or more companion, carry items helpful against a perpetrator, and do not carry items on a thief’s wish list. This city is not the crime capital of the world but answer this question: what crimes are you willing to have committed against you?

           

Works Cited

 

Barthe, Emmanuel, and B. Grant Stitt. "Impact of Casinos on Criminogenic Patterns." Police Practice and Research 10.3 (2009): 255-

 

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Charla M. Mack v Darren R. Mack. DV05-00263 3370. Second Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada in and for the County of

 

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Chereb, Sandra. "Darren Mack Gets Maximum Sentence for Killing Wife, Shooting Judge." KOLO 8 News Now. Gray Digital Media, 8

 

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Clement, Charles. “Unique Aspects of Crime in Reno.” Personal Interview. 19 November 2014.

 

"Death Sentence Overturned." 8 News NOW. The Associated Press, 5 Dec. 2008. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.

 

Everett, Pamela. "Crime in Reno." Personal interview. 10 Nov. 2014.

 

Kaye, Jeff. Beware of the Cable Guy: From Cop to Serial Killer. Palm Springs, CA.: Polimedia, 2008. Print.

 

“Killings in ‘the biggest little city.’” Crime Reports on Dateline. NBC News. 11 July 2008. 19 November 2014.

 

Pearce, Ed. "Death Sentence Reversed in 25 Year Old Child Murder." KOLO 8 News Now. Gray Digital Media, 11 Dec. 2008. Web. 12 Nov.

 

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Prosser, William L. “Divorce: The Reno Method, and Others.” Forum and Century (1930-1940) 12 1938: 286-391. ProQuest. Web. 25

 

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Sechrest v Ignacio. 730 US App (9th) 13979. United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 2008. Justia. 5 Dec. 2008. Web. 12

 

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Sechrest v State. 705 P.2d 626. Supreme Court of Nevada. 1985. Justia. 27 Aug. 1985. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.

 

United States Census Bureau. "Storey, Nevada." State & County Quickfacts. US Department of Commerce, 8 July 2014. Web. 11 Nov.

 

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United States Census Bureau. "Washoe County, Nevada." State & County Quickfacts. US Department of Commerce, 8 July 2014. Web.

 

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