Ex-Sparks fire chief faces 4 felonies over steroids

RENO – The felony drug charges facing Sparks’ ex-fire chief involve steroids and none carry potential gang enhancement penalties, the state attorney general’s office said.

The criminal complaint the Nevada Attorney General’s office filed Dec. 9 in Sparks Justice Court accuses Mark Lawson of four felony counts — including a conspiracy charge and possession with intent to sell a controlled substance.

The court initially entered the filing with an inaccurate subsection of the state criminal code relating to gang involvement, a spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office said. The court file information was corrected.

“The related drug charges are actually for steroids and there is no gang enhancement to any of the charges,” Alcinia Whiters, deputy communications director, said in an email to The Associated Press.

A conspiracy count dates to October 2020, with the most recent references to illegal possession of the steroids in August 2021, court records show.

Court records list a co-defendant, Lance Forrester of Washoe County. No lawyer is listed for Lawson or Forrester so it’s not clear if either has one or will be appointed a public defender at a Jan. 31 arraignment scheduled in justice court before Judge Chris Wilson.

Lawson had been on the job for about a week before resigning. A Sparks spokesperson said the city would have no further comment about the former fire chief.

The Reno Gazette Journal first reported that the alleged drug crimes involved steroids and no drug enhancement.

The Sparks City Council approved Lawson’s hiring Nov. 28 to the $200,000-per-year job. But on Dec. 5, Sparks City Manager Neil Krutz said he informed fire department staff that serious criminal charges were about to be filed against the new chief.

“I met with Chief Lawson and asked for his resignation and he granted it,” Krutz told the newspaper earlier. “He’s no longer employed by the city of Sparks.”