Timothy Allen Moore
A Minden man spent his first weekend in jail after being the only person convicted in connection with a #Black Lives Matter protest that occurred Aug. 8, 2020.
Timothy Allen Moore, 19, was ordered Friday to serve 20 days of a 60-day jail sentence for failure to yield to pedestrians.
East Fork Justice of the Peace Cassandra Jones ordered Moore to pay a $640 fine and do 48 hours of community service as part of his sentence.
According to court documents, Moore was driving a black Ford F-150 west on Esmeralda at around 11:30 a.m. when he encountered a group of 30 #Black Lives Matter protesters followed by a much larger group of counter demonstrators.
Moore told an investigator that he was coming from Sharkey's and wad driving to a friend's house on Wildrose. He said he deliberately avoided Highway 395 because he'd heard about the protests.He was at the stop sign making a left turn and honking his horn.
He then turned left into the crowd as they were crossing to Minden Park, according to the report from a plain clothes deputy who was walking with protesters.
The deputy said Moore, who was 18 at the time, started rolling into the crowd despite people still being in the crosswalk. Two women were in his path and stepped backward to avoid being hit as Moore continued to inch forward.
Both the deputy and another man yelled at Moore to stop but he continued.
No one was injured in the incident.
Carson Now reporter Kelsey Penrose took video of the incident and was called to testify as to its accuracy. Attorney Maria Pence was also at the scene as a legal observer.
Moore was represented by Roger O'Donnell in Joey Gilbert's law firm. Deputy District Attorney Erik Levin prosecuted the case.
The protest occurred after Douglas County Librarian Amy Dodson posted a diversity statement including #Black Lives Matter on the library’s social media in June.
The statement was taken down after Dodson was contacted by the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office, who said she should take it to her board.
The statement’s inclusion on the agenda and a response from Sheriff Dan Coverley prompted a social media storm that resulted in the Aug. 8 demonstration and counter demonstration that brought 800-1,000 protesters to Minden. The vast majority of the often-armed protesters supported the sheriff against the 50 or so #Black Lives Matter demonstrators that day. There were no arrests nor any reports of vandalism at the time.
