Assessors race heats up with revelation of felony conviction

A candidate for Carson City assessor spent time in a Maryland prison for arson, according to the Carson City Sheriff's Department.

Gene Edward Munnings, 44, a resident of Carson City since 1993, was convicted in 1980 in Baltimore City for arson and spent nearly eight years in the Maryland Correctional Institution in Hagerstown, Md., said Chief Deputy Scott Burau.

Conviction of a felony makes a person ineligible to run for public office.

"The arrest in Baltimore City was for second degree arson. We have been unable to confirm from the Maryland authorities exactly what the structure (burned) was," Burau said.

He said in 1995, Munnings registered with the Sheriff's Department as a felon. That is the last record the department has of Munnings' ex-felon registration.

Under Nevada law, anyone convicted of a felony in any state is required to register with the sheriff's department within 48 hours of their arrival in the jurisdiction. Any person violating the provisions is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Both Burau and District Attorney Noel Waters said Munnings admitted spending time in prison but thought he served his time.

"He is of the impression that because of the time he served and completed parole that this was a non-issue and he no longer had to report," Burau said.

Phone calls to Munnings went unreturned Thursday but in a phone conversation with the Nevada Appeal three weeks ago, when rumors of the arson conviction first surfaced, he denied his conviction.

"We are looking both in terms of his legal eligibility to run for office and also the question of his status in terms of the requirements to register as a felon," Waters said.

"As of yet, we have been unable to obtain any hard copy information relating to Munnings' arrest and subsequent conviction. The records obviously are very old so we've been unable to confirm any of this other than our initial inquiry. We are working with the Baltimore authorities to get the needed information," Burau said.

Munnings is one of three people who have filed to run for Carson City assessor, a position being vacated by Kit Weaver who has served as assessor for 17 years.

The two other candidates are Dave Dawley, Carson City chief deputy assessor, and Taunya Milligan, a real estate broker/agent.