Lyon County jury finds Yerington man guilty of killing wife who worked as a rural mail carrier
A 29-year-old Yerington man was found guilty by jury Thursday of first degree murder with use of a deadly weapon in the death of his wife, a rural mail carrier, the Lyon County District Attorney's Office announced.
A jury returned the verdict against Dustin Cooper, finding him guilty following an eight day jury trial at the Third Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada in Yerington, said Lyon County DA Stephen B. Rye.
Cooper was convicted for killing his wife Johnie Shadden of Yerington. On March 22, 2016, Shadden, 26, stopped at their home in Yerington on a break while working her job as a rural mail carrier.
She was home a short time before Cooper called 911. Officers and medical personnel arrived at the location. They were unable to save Shadden, who died at the scene from a gunshot wound to the torso. Cooper was arrested after a lengthy investigation led by the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office Detective Division. LCSO was assisted by the FBI and Postal Inspector.
The Third Judicial District Court will sentence Cooper on a date to be determined. Cooper faces life in prison without possibility of parole, life in prison with the possibility of parole after twenty (20) years, or fifty (50) years in prison with the possibility of parole after twenty (20) years.
The Court must also impose an additional consecutive sentence of one (1) to twenty (20) years in prison for the use of a deadly weapon in the commission of the crime.
Damian Sinnott and Stephen Rye prosecuted the case.