Machete man pleads innocent

A man charged with holding three people hostage with a machete pleaded innocent Tuesday to five felony charges that could land him in prison for as long as 38 years.

Nathan Alan Sabin, 29, allegedly forced three men to lie down at knifepoint in the back yard of a home at 1910 Fall St. on Sept. 10, kicking one person in the head, hitting another in the neck with the knife and stabbing a third. All the injuries were minor.

Sabin told Judge Bill Maddox on Wednesday he is innocent of three charges of false imprisonment with a deadly weapon and two charges of battery with a deadly weapon. He is set for a three-day trial starting Dec. 13 in Carson City District Court 2.

According to Chief Sheriff's Deputy Scott Burau, Sabin was upset by alleged drug use by the victims and attacked them. Initial reports indicate Sabin jumped on one victim's head three or four times. The same witness later amended that number to 18, said defense attorney Kay Ellen Armstrong.

Conflicting accounts by the alleged hostages put the time they were held between 20 minutes and 45 minutes. When deputies were finally notified, they arrived at the crime scene but Sabin had reportedly left.

Deputies then tracked Sabin down to a home at 3380 Fall St. where they convinced Sabin to put the machete down before he was arrested.

At Tuesday's arraignment, Armstrong asked Sabin be released to an addiction treatment program.

Prosecutor David Morandi objected, saying, "By his own admission we have Mr. Sabin wielding a machete and holding people hostage," he said. "By the grace of God he is not facing homicide charges."

Morandi also cited a criminal record that includes convictions on two domestic battery charges, two instances of drunken driving and a separate brandishing a weapon conviction from California.

Maddox denied Armstrong's request and Sabin remains in Carson City Jail in lieu of $30,000 bail.

During the investigation police broke down a door at the Fall Street address and found suspected methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia inside. A 31-year-old woman, who was not home at the time of the attack, was arrested on drug possession charges.