Routine Traffic Stop Turns Treacherous

koh no 24 news
ROUTINE TRAFFIC STOP TURNS TREACHEROUS —  A routine traffic stop in Fernley Sunday developed into a high speed chase, multiple car accidents, and a non-injury shooting in a  crime that played out over an hour in three jurisdictions. It started around 5 pm, when Lyon County deputies stopped the suspect for suspicion of driving under the influence of methamphetamine. The driver refused to get out of the car and sped off. The chase led officers down I-80, where the NHP got involved. Eventually, the suspect ended up on Highway 447, where he drove for a while and then turned around, allegedly slamming into a Lyon County patrol car. The suspect eventually made it back to the scene of the original traffic stop in Fernley. At one point, he allegedly struck a parked car, slamming it into an electrical box and knocking out power for half the neighborhood. It wasn’t over though, as one neighbor tried to assist officers by firing a shotgun at the suspect’s wheels. The shot missed, but the Pyramid Lake officer and his vehicle didn’t. The chase came to a halt when the officer crashed into the suspect’s vehicle. The suspect, Joseph Patrick Williams, faces a long list of felony charges.