IHOP SHOOTING: Shooter's mental issues surfaced quickly

Within three hours of a mass shooting last week in which four people were killed and 11 injured, investigators knew they were dealing with a mentally unstable man, according to recently released police testimony seeking search warrants for shooter Eduardo Sencion's two vehicles and his brother and parents' homes.

In seeking a search warrant, Douglas County sheriff's Sgt. Mark Munoz told Carson City Justice of the Peace Tom Armstrong in an oral affidavit that he'd accompanied Carson City deputies to a home on Jodi Lane whose address matched the registration for the 2002 Chrysler minivan Sencion drove to the IHOP. The recordings of the court hearing were unsealed Monday.

"Did you receive any information from Eduardo Sencion's family members at any of the addresses indicating his mental state or anything about his history?" asked Assistant District Attorney Gerald Gardner.

"In speaking with (a woman), who was the resident that we contacted at (Jodi Lane), she indicated that her brother-in-law was Eduardo and he possibly had access to that blue minivan, which she said was her in-laws' minivan most of the time. She indicated that Eduardo was a diagnosed schizophrenic and that he was taking medication for that issue," said Munoz.

Carson City sheriff's Detective Dave LeGros said officers wanted to search the homes and vehicles for other weapons, ammunition and other items that might be linked to Sencion's deadly rampage at the pancake house.

"We are (also) looking for electronic storage devices which may possess a type of memoir or reason why this terrible act occurred," he said.

LeGros said that immediately after the 8:58 a.m. shooting, officers went to the Jodi Lane home, fearing there were more victims inside. There they found Sencion's sister-in-law and two children unharmed. She told police that Sencion had lived there for almost three years before moving into his parents' home on Truckee Drive six months ago.

Officers found the Truckee Drive home empty. But according to LeGros, they immediately found some items of value.

"In plain view they located boxes upon boxes of additional ammo that would be suited for an SKS or AK-style rifle. They also located additional firearms inside the residence," he said. "In addition, they found a silver Nissan pickup truck, and that came back registered to Eduardo Perez-Gonzales, which is basically the same person as Eduardo Sencion."

A list of the evidence collected from the scenes has not yet been filed in court. Detectives have 10 days to file the receipt of evidence.