Nye County sheriff returns to duty a week after shooting

Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill has returned to work a week after shooting an apparently suicidal person in Pahrump.

The Oct. 31 shooting occurred shortly after 12:30 p.m. when the dispatch office was called by a woman explaining a man had been drinking heavily and was armed, according to a Facebook post by the Nye County Sheriff’s Office.

McGill and deputies responded to Simpkins Road and found Roddy Fernandes walking toward them with what turned out to be a Springfield handgun.

After repeatedly warning Fernandes to stop walking toward officers, McGill fired one round from an AR-15 rifle and hit Fernandes in the torso, according to the video news release.

Fernandes was given medical help and transported to a Las Vegas hospital where he is recovering from his injuries. His injuries and condition were not specified in the release.

McGill was placed on paid leave after the shooting, which is part of the standard protocol. He has seen a qualified mental health professional and has been released to full duty, a second NCSO release on Facebook said.

McGill joined the department in 2014 and has been sheriff since January.

The Nevada Department of Public Safety Investigations Division is investigating the shooting, the NCSO said, and that investigation will be submitted for review to the Nye County District Attorney’s Office. The NCSO Internal Affairs Division is completing an internal investigation per policy.

Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com.