Suspect has long, troubled, history

Staff Reports

A former Gardnerville Ranchos resident who once lit his neighbor's lawn on fire is the chief suspect in a window-breaking spree that ran from Stateline through Carson City and ended in Carson Valley on Monday.

David Scott Killen, 22, is being held in Douglas County Jail on $10,000 cash bail after he was arrested at the intersection of Kimmerling Road and Wheeler Way in the Ranchos on Monday afternoon.

According to Sgt. Tom Mezzetta of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, Killen is connected to breaking vehicle and business windows, which started at about 12:30 p.m. Monday with a 911 call from Stateline.

The driver of a vehicle on Highway 50 at Zephyr Cove reported a window was shot out by a small black car traveling east on the highway. A second similar report followed shortly after.

Over the next few hours, Carson City businesses along Carson, William and Stewart streets reported nearly two dozen broken windows. Where a vehicle was seen, it was described as a small black car with a white sticker and a spoiler on the back.

Carson Valley calls started coming in just after 3 p.m. when the Douglas County Engine Co. in Minden and Re/Max in Gardnerville reported damaged windows.

The incident came to a close at about 3:20 p.m. when the driver of a minivan at Riverview Drive and Dresslerville Road reported

someone shot out her window.

Mezzetta said a Douglas County deputy in the vicinity heard the broadcast stemming from the 911 call and anticipating the escape route, waited at Kimmerling and Wheeler for the black car to drive by.

Killen was identified as the driver of the Pontiac Sunfire. His passenger was Dylan Gregory, 21, of Gardnerville.

After talking to the two men, deputies took Killen into custody and released Gregory. Killen's vehicle was impounded pending a search warrant.

Killen is currently held in the Douglas County jail with a $10,000 cash only bail.

Killen has a long history of criminal acts in Douglas County including a November 2002 arson spree in which he set a dozen fires in four counties. Killen admitted one count of arson on Jan. 14, 2003, and was sentenced to up to four years in prison. That sentence was suspended and Killen was ordered to spend a year in jail.

At the time of his sentencing, Killen's attorney, William Cole, said his client was a man with a history of "petty nonsensical crimes."

Killen was released from jail on house arrest and five days later, on Dec. 9, 2003, he was caught violating his probation by leaving home and drinking heavily. Gamble imposed the prison sentence. Killen was released from prison in August 2006.

Killen and his brother set their neighbor's lawn on fire before Killen turned 18.