Carson City man accused of sex crimes involving children found dead of suspected suicide
A Carson City man facing charges of sexual assault and lewdness with children was found dead Thursday afternoon in Douglas County in what appears to be a self-inflicted suicide by gunshot.
Eugene Thomas Nichols Jr., 48, was arrested in mid December for lewdness with a child under the age of 14.
Additional charges were filed Jan. 9 and a $1 million bail amount was set after an arrest warrant was served for Nichols and two further counts of sexual assault on a child under the age of 14. On the Jan. 9 arrest it was stated in the report that Nichols had made suicidal statements.
Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong said detectives went to Genoa and confirmed that it was Nichols.
Douglas County Sheriff's Office was alerted Thursday afternoon of a report of a man with a gun and gunshots fired in the hills around the Genoa area. The sheriff's office located the body of the deceased man by using a drone, according to The Record-Courier.
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office issued the following news release:
On Jan. 23, 2020, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office responded to a man with a gun in the area of Centennial Drive in Genoa, Nev. Residents in the area received a Reverse 911 advising to shelter in place due to a potential threat. The incident has been resolved and there is no threat to our Community.
The matter remains under investigation.