Bible leads deputies to burglary suspect

Deputies tracked down a burglary suspect when they found a Bible with his name in it next to a stolen duffel bag.

Justin Blackburn, 31, was arrested Jan. 12 on a charge of burglary and jailed on $5,000 bail.

He was being held in connection with a July burglary at his former next-door neighbor's home in a Gardnerville Ranchos duplex in the 1400 block of Kimmerling Road.

The victim, who has moved to Colorado, discovered items worth more than $2,000 stolen from her residence after she and her son returned from a trip.

Missing were a a Glock handgun, two 10-round magazines, a laser sight, video games, a Nintendo 64, a GameCube, camera, video camera and costume jewelry.

Deputies found a duffel bag owned by the victim at a residence on Bumblebee where Blackburn lived with his girlfriend.

A Bible with Blackburn's name inside the cover was found next to the duffel bag.

According to deputies, Blackburn admitted selling or trading some of the items for methamphetamine, but denied any knowledge of the missing handgun.

n A Johnson Lane man was charged with driving under the influence following a minor traffic accident Jan. 11 at Airport and Heybourne roads.

Douglas A. Morgan, 64, was jailed on $1,500 bail.

He reportedly told deputies he had consumed "several beers" prior to the accident.

A preliminary test indicated his blood-alcohol content was .165, more than twice the legal limit of .08 for driving in Nevada.

Morgan said he was attempting to turn north on Heybourne Road from Airport and struck the victim's vehicle which was stopped in the left turn lane.

There were no injuries.

n A member of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office Citizen's Patrol, attempting to contact the owner of a home on Springfield Drive, discovered that the residence had been ransacked.

The patrol volunteer arrived at the residence Jan. 11 to talk to the owner about stolen property and noticed that a gate was partially open.

He walked around the back of the property and found a door open to the master bedroom.

He contacted deputies who entered the residence and found the home was in complete disarray.

According to the deputy's report, the "suspects took a lot of time and thoroughly went through every room."

The officer found a small safe near the back entrance with the door ripped off its hinges.

The suspects also went through cabinets and a vehicle in the garage.

Officers contacted the home's 76-year-old owner who was spending the winter in Monterey, Calif..

Her daughter who lives in the Ranchos had been checking on the residence.

She said she last drove by Jan. 4 and didn't notice anything out of order, but she said she didn't enter the residence.

The home owner planned to return Friday to determine what might be missing.

n A Genoa resident reported that a .357-caliber Magnum handgun that he packed in a toolbox on a Mayflower moving van for transport from Florida to Nevada didn't arrive with the rest of his property.

The 67-year-old man said he didn't report the missing weapon to the moving company because he packed it in violation of Mayflower's policy about transporting weapons.

He said he placed the 3-inch stainless steel Ruger in the toolbox for the trip because he didn't have a gun safe or lockbox.