Death threats made against a Carson City District Court judge included a Christmas card with the words “You Will Die” inside, the Carson City Sheriff’s Office reported Thursday.
The Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the Nevada Department of Public Safety Investigation Division, has been investigating multiple incidents of attempted violence against Carson City Judge John Tatro. Tatro received a written threat last December, when a Christmas card was addressed to the Tatro home with the words “You Will Die” inside.
The most recent incident being on May 13, 2015, around 1:08 a.m. when an incendiary device was placed in front of the garage door at the Tatro residence. The device burned for a while, but didn’t ignite and no damage was reported. Nearby video footage captured the image of a light colored sedan driving in the area before and after the incident.
The Christmas card also was linked to two other incidents, a drive-by shooting that occurred at the Tatro residence in 2012. Original reports state at 4:23 a.m. Dec. 11, 2012, Tatro called 911 to report someone had shot into his house. Neither Tatro or his wife were injured in the shooting. The bullets left two holes in Tatro’s front door, traveled through the living room, through a sliding glass door and out to the yard where one bullet lodged itself in a fence. A similar car appears in video footage from both the 2012 shooting and the 2015 incendiary incident.
Officials believe the suspect is a white adult male between the ages of 35-60, however they don’t have an identity for the suspect. They also believe the man lives north of Carson City, possibly in the Reno/Sparks area, due to footage of the suspect’s car entering and leaving Carson City via I-580 at Carson Street at the time of the incendiary incident.
“I think there is a connection to Carson City, he doesn’t reside here, but in Northern Nevada,” said Sheriff Ken Furlong on Wednesday.
“We are hoping that someone will see the car and it will ring a bell for them. This person has a motive for action that isn’t shaking, so it may not be a specific event, but an emotional event that triggered him. They are someone who is very upset with the Tatro family so he has most likely told other people about his hatred.
“Someone knows a person who matches this description and we need access to that if someone discussed that hatred in casual conversation.”
Investigators still are trying to determine whether the intended target is Tatro or his wife. Furlong said either way the family is at tremendous risk because he believes the intent is to harm the Tatro family. Investigators have gone through court records to see if the suspect may have been involved with the Carson City Courthouse, but they haven’t found an individual to match the suspect description through that.
The FBI, NVI, ATO and Northern Nevada law enforcement have all been involved in the investigation, however law enforcement has exhausted all efforts to try to identify who the suspect is, so Furlong is hoping someone in the community would have some information about who this person may be and come forward.
The Carson City Sheriff’s Office, Nevada Department of Public Safety and Secret Witness announced a $2,000 reward for anyone with information that leads to the identification, arrest and conviction of the man.