This is a photo illustration of $20 and $50 bills. Fallon Police Department captured two counterfeiters who were passing $20 and $50 bills, which are now entered into evidence, this week.
A Sparks man was arrested Wednesday in connection with a string of counterfeit bills passed in Fallon last week, according to Fallon Police Capt. Vern Ulrich.
Brian Conte Edward Shoemaker, 32, was booked into the Washoe County Jail after being arrested on a warrant alleging eight felonies.
Ulrich said it is likely Shoemaker, unless he posts his $30,000 bond, will be extradited to Fallon to face charges in Justice Court next week.
Shoemaker’s brother, Christopher, and another co-defendant in the case, Daniel Winters, appeared Thursday in Justice Court. As a result of the suspected scheme, FPD will host a counterfeit class on Feb. 13 (see page 5 for story).
The Churchill County District Attorney’s Office, meanwhile, filed additional charges against Christopher Shoemaker, bringing the total count to 14 felonies. They include five burglary charges and five counts of uttering a forged instrument.
Winters, though, faces only four counts including burglary and uttering a forged instrument.
In court, Winters’ attorney Jacob Sommer asked for his clients’ release noting Winters has no prior felony convictions and was not a danger to the community.
Chief Deputy DA Lane Mills objected stating Winters’ suspected crime could have had repercussions for individuals who were given the suspected fake money, which could have had them arrested unknowingly for possession of counterfeit money.
The release was denied by Justice of the Peace Mike Richards, who said bail was appropriate.
Winters’ next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 26, while Christopher Shoemaker will appear next week.
In other court news —
A Fallon man was sentenced to life in prison recently for a 1997 murder in Reno, according to media reports.
Shawn Harte was sentenced by a Washoe County jury to life in prison without the possibility for parole in the murder of Reno cab driver John Castro Jr. Harte was also to a consecutive life sentence for use of a deadly weapon.
Harte shot Castro in the back of the head with a .22-caliber bullet and stole Castro’s belongings and $89. Harte was in the cab with his girlfriend and another man during a ride from Neil Road to Cold Springs.
The two co-defendants were convicted of first-degree murder in 1999.
Harte originally received the death penalty, but an unrelated Nevada Supreme Court decision reversed Harte’s sentence.
During the one-week hearing, jurors also heard how Harte and two others shot at a car driving past them with an assault rifle and hit the vehicle with several bullets. The passengers, though, were unharmed.
In addition, the jury also heard from Castro’s family. A letter Harte wrote in 1998 to the family compared the killing to taking out the trash.
A bench warrant was issued Tuesday in District Court for Marlene Mori, a former Fallon resident who skipped her sentencing hearing.
Her attorney, Scott Jamieson of Reno, said he did not know where his client was, but that Mori was last seen at a motel in Reno. Jamieson said Mori was enrolled in a drug treatment program but has “mysteriously disappeared.”
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