Family questions man's death

GARDNERVILLE - Family members are questioning how a Gardnerville man could have killed himself while handcuffed after an early Saturday morning shootout with Douglas County deputies.

Joshua Able Petri, 27, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head after running from deputies back into his home, the sheriff's office reported Monday.

Petri was riding with friends at 4:15 a.m. Saturday when Deputy Robert Duffy spotted their white Chevrolet pickup driving erratically on Highway 395. Duffy turned on his lights to conduct a traffic stop, but the pickup pulled into Kingslane Mobile Home Park in Gardnerville, according to Sgt. Tom Mezzetta of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

A passenger in the pickup, later identified as Petri, ran toward mobile homes. Duffy radioed for backup and a second deputy arrived to help remove the other two occupants from the pickup and handcuff them face down on the ground.

Petri then took an AK-47 from his room and fired seven shots, according to Petri's father and brother.

Deputy Duffy was hit as he ran from behind his patrol car and toward the trailer.

Petri then stepped inside the doublewide mobile home and hugged his mother and brother before going back outside. "He was shocked by what he had just done," said brother Jason Petri.

Petri walked out of the house with his arms extended as if he were carrying a weapon and yelled for officers to shoot him.

One officer fired four rounds from his Colt AR-15 rifle. One shot hit Petri in the left ring finger and he dropped to the ground. An officer approached Petri and handcuffed him.

Two deputies, in addition to the injured Duffy, were on scene when the rest of the family came out.

"I could hear the officer say, 'He's down,' so we went outside," said his father, Don Petri.

Joshua was handcuffed on the ground and deputies ordered the rest of the family down and handcuffed them.

According to Mezzetta, the two deputies now had six people to watch and were trying to maintain cover.

Joshua got up and a deputy used a Taser on him, but he managed to open a front gate and sliding-glass door.

Unwilling to follow Joshua into the house with five people in custody, deputies waited for backup.

"They had him handcuffed and on the ground and he managed to get away somehow," Jason Petri said. "We heard two shots inside and we knew he was dead. They were calling every cop in town they could get there. They had a tank."

More than 70 officers from Douglas County, the Washoe Tribe, Nevada Highway Patrol and Carson City responded.

Officers found Petri dead and a .410-gauge handgun at his side.

According to the Washoe County Coroner's Office Petri was able to move the right handcuff about 3 inches up his arm, which allowed him to bring the handgun up around his lower torso to fire the shot, Mezzetta said.

"They said Joshua went through all these drawers when he was in here," Don Petri said. "I don't see how he could have done that with handcuffs on, much less cracked open the gun and loaded it."

Duffy, 30, an eight-year veteran of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, is recovering from surgery at Washoe Medical Center, where doctors are trying to save the ring finger on his left hand.

"I'm sorry the officer was shot," Don Petri said. "But my son is dead."

You can help

The Douglas County Sheriff's Protective Association has set up an account for Deputy Robert Duffy.

His medical expenses are covered, but incidental costs such as child care, lodging and travel expenses to the hospital and the physician are carried by the family.

Donations may be made for Deputy Robert Duffy, Account No. 843067, at any branch of the Greater Nevada Credit Union.