Sparks Resident Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison

Found Guilty in Connection to a Lemmon Valley Shooting

A Sparks man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison with eligibility for parole after 6 years based on his involvement in a shooting and subsequent car crash. 26-year-old Tyler Hernandez pled guilty to Discharging a Firearm at or into Occupied Vehicle, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and Reckless Driving Resulting in Substantial Bodily Harm to Other Person.

The case against Hernandez began in November of 2021, when deputies with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting on Lemmon Drive. When law enforcement arrived on scene, they discovered that multiple suspects had been firing at each other from two vehicles, a Chevy Cobalt and a Chevy Tahoe, in a parking lot before both fled the scene. Moments after fleeing the scene of the shooting, Hernandez drove the Cobalt into oncoming traffic and collided with a vehicle driven by a female who was uninvolved in the shooting. Both Hernandez and his passenger were ejected from the Cobalt and sustained injuries. The driver of the other vehicle was taken to the hospital with multiple injuries, including a shattered hip.

At the scene of the crash, deputies found a handgun and a loaded magazine. Witnesses also told law enforcement that Hernandez had been attempting to retrieve the weapon, but a witness kicked it away. Video surveillance from nearby businesses showed the defendant initially firing at, and into, the Tahoe, in which two women and two children were sitting.

The District Attorney’s Office argued that the defendant’s previous felony Involuntary Manslaughter conviction where firearms were used, combined with the alarming facts and circumstances of this case, showed that Hernandez is a grave danger to the community The Honorable Judge Scott Freeman imposed the sentence.