Nevada Highway Patrol Sergeant Guy Davis reported that a man wanted on a felony warrant from Kentucky and driving a stolen vehicle was arrested Aug. 29 in Lincoln County.
Davis said the 26-year-old suspect, driving a 2018 Dodge Challenger, was arrested by the NHP for speeding about 15 miles north of Hiko on state route 318.
When questioned, the man displayed a phony Wisconsin registration. A license plate check revealed the vehicle had been stolen recently out of Phoenix, Arizona.
In the vehicle, troopers found what was described as a “financial forgery laboratory.” Nevada Revised Statutes define such a laboratory as a device or technology configured to obtain the personal identity information of another person, to commit any unlawful act or create any forged or fraudulent financial document or instrument.
The suspect had apparently even changed the registration form found on the Dodge Challenger itself.
The arrest warrant from Kentucky was for fraudulent use of a credit card.
He was taken into custody and charged with possession of a stolen vehicle (felony); establishing/possessing a financial forgery laboratory (felony); the Kentucky warrant (felony); obstructing a police officer, [giving a false name and information], (misdemeanor); and numerous other misdemeanors.
Davis said the investigation is continuing, to learn exactly what the suspect was doing with the forgery laboratory.
“We’re still working with the Nevada Department of Investigation,” he said.
The suspect is being held at the Lincoln County Detention Center and is expected to appear soon for a preliminary hearing before Judge Nola Holton in Pahranagat Valley Justice Court.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported in 2016 that a William Digilio, of Las Vegas, was convicted of possessing a financial laboratory, which he had used since at least 2013.
In Digilio’s apartment, investigators found he had manufactured nearly $20,000 in counterfeit currency by scanning a genuine $20 Federal Reserve Note.
State Attorney General Adam Laxalt commented, “Forgery is a serious crime that can have far-reaching consequences on individuals and businesses … and those who would seek to forge monies or documents, when discovered, will be held accountable.”
