Erik Farnlacher
Nevada Highway Patrol and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department were involved in a high-speed chase Thursday, July 18.
A State Trooper was on SR 318, when he was passed by a southbound vehicle, dark blue 2001 Volkswagen Jetta, going 90 mph in a 70 mph zone. The state trooper turned to stop the vehicle, and the chase pursued. The vehicle accelerated and was making unsafe passes at a high rate of speed, said Sgt. Guy Davis of the NHP.
Another NHP officer was available to deploy spike strips at the south end of SR 318, near the Crystal junction. The spikes flattened both the front and rear tires on the drivers side of the vehicle. The vehicle then continued south on U.S. Highway 93.
Two units arrived from the Sheriff’s Department, catching up to the chase just south of Ash Springs. By that time, the vehicle was driving on its rims.
The vehicle finally quit running in the southbound lane, just south of Alamo, near mile marker 38, stopping all north and south bound traffic.
NHP officers then followed with a “felony take-down,” taking the suspect into custody by gunpoint.
Once the suspect was arrested and taken into custody by NHP, officers found a large amount of drugs in the vehicle, along with false identification, prescription drugs, and weight scales.
“It was unbelievable what he had,” said Sheriff Kerry Lee.
The assailant, Erik Bernard Farnlacher, 32, of Castro Valley, Calif., was booked into the Lincoln County Detention Center with three counts of trafficking of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, four counts of possession of a controlled substance schedule 1-2, two counts of possession of a controlled substance schedule 4, possession of dangerous drugs, reckless driving, driving without a valid drivers license, eluding, unregistered vehicle, and possession of a false/sale/altered item.
Farnlacher’s bond has been set at $836,267.
