Carson City man, Fresno man face elderly exploitation charge

Minden, Nev. — A Carson City man is free after posting a $175,012 bond in connection with his arrest for allegedly trying to extort $900 from an elderly Minden resident.

Michael John, 39, and Sonny Sterio, 41, are denying they followed an infirm 74-year-old to his home after allegedly accosting him at a Carson grocery store parking lot

Sterio, a Fresno resident, was in custody Tuesday on charges of burglary, robbery and exploitation of the elderly. His bail is $185,665.

Both men appeared in East Fork Justice Court on Monday after they were arrested while waiting for the 74-year-old man to bring them money at the bank.

According to the victim, the two men came up to him in the parking lot of Smith’s on Friday in Carson City and said they would detail his car.

The man told deputies he said he didn’t have any money. The victim said he went to Home Depot, where the two men came up to him again.

They allegedly asked the victim, who uses a walker, what he was taking for the pain.

They then followed him to his home in the North Valley, where the victim said John walked into his home, and took a medication bottle from him. After a short time, Sterio came in and said the car was finished. They allegedly demanded $900 from him. He gave them $200, and said he wouldn’t be able to get the rest until Saturday.

At around 2 p.m., deputies received a call from the bank that the two were waiting for the man, and took them into custody.

Both men said they were hiring their own attorneys and sought a lower bail on Monday.

Sterio said he and his family were essentially homeless, and that if he were able to make bail, he could prove his innocence.

They are scheduled to be in court today.