Maryland man held for firing shots at Fernley motel

A Maryland man was arrested after a vehicle pursuit and additionally charged with firing a gun into a Fernley motel on Tuesday, according to a Lyon County Sheriff’s Office news release.

On Tuesday at 2:36 p.m., LCSO dispatch received a call of shots being fired at the Comfort Inn and Suites, located at 800 Mesa Drive in Fernley, according to the release.

When deputies arrived, several shell casings were found in the parking lot and numerous bullets holes were found on the exterior of the hotel, to include broken windows. A hotel employee advised deputies that a white van was parked near the shell casings earlier but had since left.

As deputies were speaking to the hotel employee, he advised the same van arrived back to the hotel and parked near the entrance. Based on the fact that the van was seen parked near the shell casings, a shooting took place, and the employee believed this van was related to the shooting, deputies attempted to make contact with the driver to investigate further.

Deputies approached the vehicle and attempted to speak with the driver, who was acting nervous and sweating profusely. When asked to exit the vehicle, the driver fled the scene and a vehicle pursuit was initiated, the release said.

The driver fled on Mesa Drive and later stopped the vehicle in the desert area west of Fernley. Special Investigation Unit detectives, who were involved in the pursuit, made contact with the driver and placed him under arrest.

He was identified by his Maryland driver’s license as 29-year-old Maryland resident, Joshua Graham. He was transported to the Fernley substation and interviewed by detectives.

A search warrant was obtained for the suspect’s vehicle and a handgun was recovered. A search of the crime scene revealed shell casing and one expended bullet in the parking lot. Four expended bullets were recovered from inside various hotel rooms.

No one was injured as a result of the shooting. Although some of the hotel rooms were rented, they were all unoccupied when the shooting took place.

Graham was later booked into the LCSO jail without incident. He was charged with Discharging a Firearm into an Occupied Structure, a felony. His bail was set at $5,000.