Lyon County Sheriff’s Office has released a mug shot on Troy Driver, who was taken into custody on Friday as a suspect in the kidnapping of a Fernley woman.
By Scott Sonner Associated Press
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
RENO — A 41-year-old man with a violent criminal record was arraigned Wednesday on a first-degree kidnapping charge in the disappearance of 18-year-old Naomi Irion of Fernley, who last seen more than two weeks ago.
Bail had been set at $750,000 after Troy Driver's Friday arrest and a judge in Lyon County left it unchanged during a brief court hearing Wednesday. Driver has yet to enter a plea.
Justice of the Peace Lori Matheus said Driver will have to wear a GPS monitoring device if he posts a bond.
Driver has been held at the Lyon County Jail in Yerington as a suspect in what authorities have characterized as the abduction of Irion.
He was arraigned from jail via Zoom.
Irion last was seen about 5:25 a.m. March 12 in a Walmart parking lot in Fernley about 30 miles east of Reno. Security video showed a masked man wearing a hooded sweatshirt get into her car, which was later found a short distance away.
The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information to locate Irion. Hundreds of volunteers have joined searches during the past two weeks, looking for clues in a vast desert area. Family members said Wednesday another search is planned this weekend.
Matheus set a court date for Driver next Tuesday, and a preliminary hearing April 12 to decide if there is evidence for Driver to be tried in state court. He could face life in prison without parole if he is convicted.
His defense lawyer, Mario Walther, did not immediately respond to requests for comment following the hearing.
Several news outlets have reported that Driver was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in a 1997 murder case in Northern California.
Mendocino County Court records show he pleaded guilty that summer to robbery, burglary, firearms charges as well as to being an accessory to a felony after the fact.
Associated Press Writer Ken Ritter in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
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