Man arrested in connection with Tahoe armed robbery

A Sparks man was arrested in Carson City on Wednesday morning after allegedly stealing a truck near Cave Rock as a means to escape from a Stateline armed robbery.

According to South Lake Tahoe Police Sgt. Brian Williams, just before 7 a.m. Wednesday morning a man and woman arrived at the 76 gas station on Highway 50 West and Poplar Avenue where the man allegedly brandished a gun at the clerk. After getting the money, the couple left in a vehicle, said Williams.

"Evidently he did not get the gasoline he needed because he fled and ran out of gas in the area of Cave Rock," he said.

Dawn Fox, 36, of Carson City, was found by Douglas County officers sitting in the disabled vehicle, according to Douglas County Undersheriff Paul Howell.

But her boyfriend, Robert Steele Nash, 36, could not be found.

That's when he allegedly stole a truck, said Williams.

Just before 9 a.m., Carson City deputies were called to the 700 block of Curry Street by a man who claimed he'd found his truck, which was stolen hours earlier from outside of his mother's Cave Rock home.

Because the victim witnessed the truck backing out of the driveway, he and a friend were able to follow it to Carson City, where they lost sight of it at Carson Street and Snyder Avenue, according to police records.

After searching various parking lots in the city, the men discovered the truck parked on Curry Street.

As deputies were talking with the victim, they noticed a man watching from 702 Curry St., said Deputy Rick Dodds.

When a woman exited the home, officers questioned her about the man inside and she stated it was her roommate's boyfriend, and he probably fled out the back door because he had warrants, reports indicate.

After officers surrounded the home, the man surrendered without incident. He identified himself as Nash.

The victim told officers the glasses on Nash's head were his missing from the truck, the report states.

Upon further questioning, the woman said Nash told her his girlfriend was arrested, he had run out of gas and his father had let him use a truck, allegedly pointing to the stolen Ford F-250.

A search of the residence allegedly yielded the recovery of the truck keys from a bathroom garbage can and the victim's credit cards and business cards from the medicine cabinet.

The report states officers also found in the truck a receipt for Winner's Corner, where the victim's credit card was used.

A deputy went to the convenience store and watched the video, which allegedly showed Nash purchasing a carton of cigarettes, a knit hat and a newspaper.

Nash was booked into the Carson City Jail on suspicion of felony fraudulent use of a credit card, obtaining money under false pretenses and possession of stolen property. His bail is set at $25,000.

Fox is being held in the Douglas County Jail in Stateline on suspicion of felony possession of a controlled substance. Her bail is set at $5,000.

The vehicle she was in was seized for inspection by South Lake Tahoe officials.

Charges against the two have yet to be filed in relation to the armed robbery.

• Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.