It’s been a couple of lively nights here in the proud old belly of Nevada—though “lively” ain’t the sort of word that sits too comfortably next to gunpowder and death. But truth be told, the hills are whisperin’, and the saloons are buzzin’ with word of not one, but two men who met their end not by cholera or old age but by the kind of modern death meted out at the barrel of a pistol.
First up was Carson City’s little ballad of blood and regret. On the night of April 30, the good and god-fearing folk of Telegraph Street got roused by the unholy crack of gunfire just before ten bells.
A feller named De Lecs Smith, age 26—young enough to know better and old enough to do worse—found himself exchanging harsh words with a man born in August ‘78. Whether it was over women, whiskey, or wounded pride–nobody rightly knows, but what’s known is this–the two took their disagreement out into the street, and only one of ‘em walked away.
Smith, not inclined to hang around for the law to offer its opinion, took off—but didn’t get far. Somewhere in an hour, his conscience or cowardice caught up with him, and he dialed up the 9-1-1 Center like a man late to his reckoning. The deputies scooped him up before the night was over, and now he sits in a cell without bail, accused of open murder, battery with a deadly weapon, and carrying a concealed piece without a paper to say he could.
The victim’s name ain’t released—perhaps out of respect, or the family’s still being notified—but his story’s already written in chalk and sorrow on Telegraph Street.
If that wasn’t enough, Reno—proud sister city to Carson and just as capable of nighttime mischief—saw a bloodletting less than 24 hours later. On the First of May, just as the sun was thinking about tucking in behind the Sierras, gunshots rang out in front of the Silver Legacy Resort Hotel and Casino. That’s right–bullets flew where once coins clinked, and a man fell dead right outside the circus-colored doors of Lady Luck’s palace.
Reno police responded with haste, but the shooter–like a ghost was gone before they got there. No name for the victim, no name for the suspect, and no answer to that age-old question–what drives a man to shoot another down in the very heart of town?
The law says there’s no danger to the rest of us, but if you ask me, any time men start solving disputes with sidearms–danger ain’t far off. So hold your kin close, keep your temper checked, and maybe think twice before offering insult over a poker hand or a strong drink.
The Old Blog in the Desert 