Person killed on officer-involved shooting following Aug. 4 chase identified as Winnemucca man

Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter

The Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office identified the person killed in an officer-involved shooting Aug. 4 in Wadsworth after a high-speed chase on Interstate 80 as Tony DeHart, 40, of Winnemucca.

The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating the incident, hasn’t yet determined whether DeHart was shot by a Lyon County Sheriff’s deputy, or shot himself. Lyon County Sheriff’s Lt. Mitch Brantingham said at last Wednesday’s City Council meeting that the deputy who was placed on routine administrative leave after the incident has been cleared and is back at work.

LCSO said DeHart led deputies and state police troopers on a high speed chase on I-80 from the area of Exit 48 to the Wadsworth exit 43, where he left the freeway and drove westbound on Cantlon Dr. until crashing into a ditch. Deputies said he then fired shots at them. The car caught fire, but DeHart never emerged from the vehicle.

The medical examiner’s office said Dehart suffered injuries from the fire in addition to a gunshot wound. The cause and manner of death remains under investigation.