A man and woman were arrested for alleged felony child abuse Wednesday after leaving their 9-month-old infant locked inside a vehicle at a local supermarket parking lot, according to a Carson City Sheriff’s Office booking report.
Following an investigation, CCSO deputies arrested Christina Nickerson, 40 and Samuel White Eagle Rhodes, 44. Both are from Carson City.
According to the report, at approximately 6:50 p.m. deputies were called to the store in the 500 block of East William Street. It was reported a baby was locked in a vehicle at the location and the parents could not be found.
Deputies arrived and met with witnesses, both employees at the store. They directed deputies to a Mercury Monterey van. The licensed owner was Christina Nickerson. The vehicle was dark blue with dark windows. Inside the vehicle deputies could see a baby sitting in a carseat in the back right passenger seat, the report states.
The baby was strapped in with a blue blanket. The infant was observed to cry and stop several times. The deputy checked the vehicle doors, which were all locked. All of the windows were closed and secured, the report states.
The temperature outside was approximately 85-90 degrees. The report notes this could bring the internal temperature of the vehicle to 100 to 120 degrees. It is estimated the child had been in the vehicle for approximately 30 minutes, the report states.
Carson City Fire Department responded. The officer had the reporting party (RP) go inside and page for Christina Nickerson to come outside. The deputy also had employees search the female bathroom for the woman. Deputies had dispatch call the woman from a phone number in CCSOs local database but they were unable to contact her. Carson City Fire Department were able to open the passenger door and retrieve the baby.
When the child was extracted from the vehicle, “he was crying, sweating and red in the face,” the report states. Carson City firefighters treated the child at the scene and the Division of Child and Family Services were contacted, according to the report.
The mother could not be found inside or outside the store, the report states. While waiting for DCFS to respond, Samuel Rhodes came running out of the store toward a deputy. He became very frantic, stating it was his fault. A sergeant detained him and Nickerson came out shortly afterward and verified her identity. She was detained and read her Miranda rights. She stated she understand and began to speak.
She stated she was working at a store and was going to have Rhodes pick her up. She could not get a hold of him so she started walking home. While she was walking, Rhodes found her and picked her up. At some point, they stopped the vehicle so she could drive and electronically deposited her paycheck. They then drove to the grocery store, got out of the vehicle and walked into the store, the report states.
Nickerson claimed she did not know her son was in the vehicle. She thought Rhodes had left him at home. The officer continued to ask her how she could not know her son was in the vehicle as she was driving. She stated she was sick and the infant was quiet. She stated the car seat is only in the vehicle when the baby is being transported. She stated she did not see the car seat. She said she did not hear the multiple announcements in the store because she was on the phone, the report states.
The sergeant read Rhodes his Miranda rights and he agreed to speak. The man said he went to pick up Nickerson from her work and they drove to the grocery store. He said he was on the phone with his older son and he was preoccupied with that and forgot about the baby in the back seat, the report states.
He said Nickerson wasn’t aware of the child because the baby was quiet. He confirmed that he was the baby’s father and Nickerson was the mother of the baby. The deputy asked Rhodes how he didn’t respond when he heard the announcements over the loudspeaker in the store, the report states.
He claimed he didn’t hear them because he is partially deaf. He said Nickerson may have thought the older son had the baby because he watches the baby sometimes, the report states. They were arrested and booked for suspicion of felony child abuse and neglect. As of Saturday morning, both remained booked at Carson City Jail.
In other arrests:
— A 51-year-old Carson City man was arrested Thursday for suspicion of use of a drug, chemical or organic solvent to induce euphoria. According to the booking report, deputies were called to a gas station in the 1100 block of North Carson Street for a report of a man at the pumps huffing nitrous.
The reporting party described the man and the U-Haul he had been in that drove away. A deputy located and followed the U-Haul, which turned right onto North Curry without using a turn signal. The deputy stopped the U-Haul and approached the driver’s door and explained the reason for the stop and the concern from the RP. The man handed the deputy a box of Baking Bad, used for cooking.
The box states do not inhale, nitrous for food purposes only. The deputy explained to him that someone called him in for inhaling it. The man said he was just sniffing it. A police K9 did an exterior sniff of the vehicle. The K9 alerted to the vehicle. In the cab of the U-Haul a deputy located two nitrous oxide bottle in between the driver and passenger seat. One of the bottles was Baking Bad and the other was Infusion Whip, the report states.
The deputy asked the man again about the bottles. He said he only sniffed them long enough to drink a coffee, the report states. He was arrested for use/possession of a drug chemical poison or organic solvent with intent to induce euphoria or hallucinations. Bail: $1,137.
— A 30-year-old Carson City man was arrested Thursday for suspicion of misdemeanor DUI. According to the booking report, CCSO deputies were called to the 3400 block of Imperial Way for a possible drunk driver. The reporting party (RP) advised the make of the vehicle and said the driver had crashed into two parked cars.
The deputy arrived on scene and located the suspect vehicle. The man was outside the vehicle. Witnesses on scene said they observed the man driving the vehicle, crash into two parked vehicles and confirmed he was the sole occupant of the vehicle, the report states.
The driver admitted to hitting the parked cars while making a delivery. While speaking, the deputy could smell and odor of alcohol. The deputy asked if he would be willing to perform standardized field sobriety tests. The man consented and showed signs of impairment on the tests. He provided a preliminary breath test of .243 and was arrested for suspicion of DUI. He was read the request for voluntary evidence, which he refused to provide a blood or breath sample. The deputy applied for a warrant for a blood draw. The warrant was granted by a Carson City judge. Bail: $1,137.
— A 24-year-old Zephyr Cove man was arrested Thursday for suspicion of misdemeanor petit larceny and a contempt of court warrant. Bail: $1,000 cash.
— A 30-year-old Carson City man was arrested Thursday for suspicion of possession of a controlled substance, making a false statement to obstruct and obstruct or damage of road, street or alley.
At 2:09 a.m. a deputy driving westbound on Fairview saw a man face down in the middle of the number one lane. At the time the deputy was not sure if the man had been hit by a car or why he was in the middle of the roadway. The deputy activated their emergency lights and got to the subject who was able to talk and had no apparent injuries, the report states.
The deputy asked for his name multiple times. The man refused to provide it and kept putting his hands in his pockets. The deputy told him multiple times to not put his hands in his pockets. The deputy told him he was going to pat him down for weapons because he would not keep his hands out of his pockets, the report states.
While patting him down for weapons, the deputy asked him his name a couple more times. The man would still not provide the deputy with his name. He was placed in handcuffs and advised that if he did not give his name, he would be going to jail for obstructing. While placing him in handcuffs, the man’s arms tensed up and he balled his fingers into fists. Another deputy arrived and they asked the man for his name. The man did’t provide it. He was placed under arrest for obstructing and for obstructing a public road.
While searching the man after he was placed into custody, deputies located a bag of methamphetamine and a bag of hallucinogenic mushrooms. Deputies located his ID he had in his pocket. His name was run through dispatch where he had a confirmed warrant for failure to appear. Bail: $2,500 for the drugs and obstructing and $1,000 cash for the warrant.
— A 53-year-old Gardnerville woman was arrested Thursday for suspicion of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Bail: $2,500.
— A 21-year-old Carson City man was arrested Thursday for suspicion making a false statement to obstruct an officer. Bail: $300.
— A 34-year-old Pennsylvania man was arrested Thursday for two counts possession of a controlled substance. Officers located three bags of hallucinogenic mushrooms and a bag of MDMA during a probable cause search. Bail: $2,500.
— A 41-year-old Carson City man was arrested Thursday damage to property and DUI second offense. According to the report, a deputy was driving on East 5th Street and observed a road sign that had been knocked down over the intersection.
The deputy observed a fluid trail indicating the vehicle made a left turn going the wrong way in a roundabout. The deputy stopped to removed the roadway sign. As they were doing that, the deputy asked dispatch if they had received a recent report of a sign being knocked down at the intersection. Dispatch then advised they had received a report of a DUI driver at the intersection hitting the road sign at around the same time. The officer observed there was a headlight at the scene near where the road sign was stuck, the report states.
The deputy then respond to the DUI driver report, the reporting party advised the driver was in a gold Mitsubishi on Fairview near Walker. The deputy located the vehicle driving south on Fairview. The vehicle drove past the deputy, where the deputy observed it missing a headlight and had damage to the hood consistent with striking a road sign, the report states.
The RP later advised that she witnessed the vehicle approached the roundabout at a high rate of speed, failed to slow down and struck the sign then continued the wrong way through the roundabout before going north on Fairview Drive, the report states.
The deputy located the vehicle and while behind it, observed the right two tires drive on the center line approximately three times, the report states.
The deputy spoke with the driver who identified himself. The officer could smell a moderate odor of alcohol coming from his person. The man had red watery eyes and slurred speech. The officer asked if he had struck a sign at the intersection. The man advised he had. The report notes that the damage to the man’s front hood and bumper was consistent with the width and height of the damage to the sign. The man’s vehicle was also missing a headlight, consistent with the headlight the officer observed at the scene.
The officer asked the man to exit the car and if he would be willing to consent to field sobriety tests. As the man exited, an open container of vodka dropped out of the vehicle. Several other open containers of vodka were in plain view in the cab as well. The man advised he did not want to do field sobriety tests though he did consent to a preliminary breath test. The result was .229. He was arrested for suspicion of DUI. Officers learned he had a DUI conviction in 2021. He was booked for DUI 2nd as well as hit and run because of the failed stop at the scene after he struck the road sign.
All information for the crime log (unless otherwise noted) is public information and supplied by the Carson City Sheriff’s Office through probable cause reports. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Go here to view our policy on naming defendants.
