Wounded deputy home after surgery

A Douglas County Sheriff's deputy who was shot in the hand on April 2 was released from the hospital on Friday.

Deputy Robert Duffy underwent surgery on Thursday to remove his finger and repair damage done to his hand, according to Sheriff Ron Pierini.

"The surgery took longer than expected, but the doctors are very comfortable that he will make a 100 percent recovery," Pierini said. "They don't feel there was any nerve damage. That's the best news to me."

Pierini said Duffy could be out for as long as six months before he can return to duty. He said the county has a very good plan for employees who are injured in the line of duty.

Duffy is happy to be leaving the hospital where he has been since the shooting incident in Kingslane last weekend.

"He said, 'Man, I've got to get out of this place,'" Pierini said. "He is excited about going home and everyone involved needed this information to know that things are going to be OK."

Duffy was hit in the left hand and the bullet exited near his ring finger.

While not life-threatening, his injury may affect his ability to be a deputy.

"People have said that at least it wasn't his right hand, but we have to qualify with both hands, in case one hand is injured," Pierini said. "He told me he wants to come back to work."

Pierini said the sheriff's office has replaced the windows in the Petri mobile home.

"We went by and fixed the windows on the trailer," he said. "It cost very little to do that. We'll fix the sheetrock inside and clean up from the tear gas."

Pierini said doing the work was not a legal requirement, but was the moral thing to do.

"It was just the right thing for us to do," he said.

The investigation into the incident that led up to the death of Gardnerville resident Joshua Petri, 27, is still in progress.

"The biggest task now is putting it all down on paper," he said. "We should be at closure at the end of next week except for some of the follow-up."