A 39-year-old Carson City man died Friday after being flown Wednesday by Care Flight following an incident between him and his roommate in which the victim was found unconscious, Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong said.
Richard Doke died at Renown Medical Center in Reno at 3 a.m.. An autopsy is scheduled to be completed. His roommate, Rex Warren, 53, was taken into custody Wednesday for domestic battery, first offense and booked into the Carson City Jail. No weapons were believed to have been used in the incident. Additional charges are pending at this time, said Furlong.
On Wednesday, June 8, the Carson City Sheriff’s Office responded to a reported unconscious person at the 3000 block of Melanie Lane. Officers had already responded to the location twice the same day and were aware that the two male roommates were having verbal arguments.
On arrival, deputies met with fire/paramedic personnel and were briefed that the victim was suffering from multiple injuries, including substantial head trauma. These injuries were not observed by officers during the previous incidents.
Like most jurisdictions, deputies at the Carson City Sheriff’s Office receive training for crisis intervention, explained Furlong. A review of the actions taken by officers on the previous calls to the address appear to have been well within the guidelines of their training.
The first call received at 5:25 p.m. was from Rex Warren, who reported that he had an unwanted person at his residence. At arrival, Officers learned that the unwanted person was his roommate, Doke, who was actually living at the residence.
The incident was settled at the scene and both parties were reported calm. Approximately one hour later, Warren called 911 again for officers to make Doke leave the residence. Although Doke apparently left the residence for a period of time as a result of this call, he returned later.
At approximately 8 p.m., Warren reported to the 911 operator (for medical service) that his friend was unconscious and having a seizure. Doke was transported to Renown Medical Center where he later died. He never regained consciousness, said Furlong.
This case is currently under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office.
