White Pine County Man Formally Charged in The Murder of an NHP Trooper

A White Pine County man has been formally charged in the March 27 murder of Nevada Highway Patrol Sgt. Ben Jenkins. 65 year old John Leonard Dabritz, is also charged in Ely Justice Court with grand larceny of a motor vehicle, grand larceny of a firearm, and third-degree arson. He’s accused of shooting Jenkins and taking his vehicle and weapon, then setting his rental vehicle on fire and fleeing the scene. When Jenkins’ patrol vehicle was later found disabled in a ravine, Dabritz was inside and in possession of the stolen pistol. He was arrested without incident. Reportedly Dabritz was paranoid about Corona Virus, and had been behaving erratically. He could face a death penalty.