Man arrested in Storey County on rape charge

A Sparks man remained in the Storey County Jail on Tuesday, charged in the abduction and sexual assault of a woman he allegedly met in a Reno casino.

Ronald Ray Harris, 29, an unemployed flooring installer, was arrested Sunday morning at 5:30 a.m. on suspicion of felony kidnapping, sexual assault and possession of a stolen vehicle.

According to Storey County Sheriff's Sgt. Chris Parsons, Storey County Deputy Gerry Antinoro was in Lockwood early Sunday when he spotted a vehicle parked in a canyon in Lockwood.

Parsons said when Antinoro ran the plates on the vehicle, they came back stolen, and he arrested Harris who was in the driver's seat. Parsons said Harris was also named as the suspect in the vehicle theft.

When Antinoro talked with the female passenger, she told him she'd met Harris at a Reno casino the previous evening, and at some point he abducted her, drove her to the Lockwood canyon and raped her, Parsons said.

He said Harris denied her version of events and said the contact was consensual.

Parsons said Washoe County will likely prosecute the kidnapping charge, but it appears the alleged rape happened in Storey County.

Harris is being held on $225,000 bail.

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