Bail hiked for man accused of luring child, felony DUI

Bail was increased to $25,000 cash Wednesday for a 54-year-old Gardnerville man accused of luring a child and a separate felony drunk driving offense along with other traffic violations.

Senior East Fork Justice Steven McMorris appointed attorney Tod Young to represent Patrick McKinnon and ordered him to return to court Sept. 22.

In addition to the felony DUI and gross misdemeanor luring allegation, McKinnon is charged with driving with a suspended driver's license and failure to maintain a travel lane.

On July 22, McKinnon is accused of trying to talk a 10-year-old boy into getting into his pickup truck.

The alleged victim said McKinnon told him to put his bicycle in the back of the suspect's truck, and said, "It's all right. You can have an ice cream."

The boy refused and went into the Outer Limits Board Shop at Scolaris shopping center and reported the incident to the owner who called deputies.

McKinnon claimed he thought the boy was his son whom he hadn't seen for two years up until a month before the incident.

Witnesses said McKinnon came into the store, addressing the boy by his son's name and promising his ice cream if he got in the truck.

The boy's parents came to the store and were advised to obtain a restraining order against McKinnon. According to reports, McKinnon apologized and insisted he thought the boy was his son.

He was issued a trespass warning and told to stay out of the shop.

In a separate incident, the defendant, who had been placed in the DUI diversion program to keep drunk drivers out of prison, was arrested Sept. 12 on Highway 395 at Plymouth Drive about 10 p.m.

According to reports, McKinnon's vehicle was observed weaving between lanes three times before a deputy pulled the suspect over.

McKinnon reportedly told the deputy he had one glass of wine. A preliminary breath test indicated his blood-alcohol content at .240, three times the legal limit of .08 for driving.

A search of McKinnon's criminal history revealed three prior DUI convictions in April 2004, June 2007 and October 2008.

After the third conviction, McKinnon was placed in the DUI diversion program, designed to keep drunk drivers out of prison.

A third DUI conviction in Nevada within seven years results in mandatory prison unless the defendant is accepted in DUI court. If they fail the three-to-five year diversion program, they are returned to District Court for sentencing.