Gunman killed holding infant hostage had long criminal history

RENO — A gunman shot and killed by sheriff’s deputies while holding an infant hostage had an extensive criminal record and was awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to assault with a deadly weapon, authorities said.

Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong confirmed Cortney Ronald Staley was the father of the infant he was threatening during a five-hour standoff Saturday with a SWAT team.

Staley, 32, exchanged gunfire with deputies before he was killed at a home on the city’s east side, Furlong said. His estranged wife and two other children had escaped the home when deputies were called to a domestic dispute Saturday afternoon. No one else was hurt.

Staley had a history of “aggressive tendencies toward his spouse, along with delusional and suicidal tendencies,” Furlong said in a statement late Monday.

The Utah native pleaded guilty last month to the assault charge. He was scheduled to be interviewed this week by a parole and probation officer preparing a pre-sentencing recommendation, Furlong said.

Staley was the subject of unspecified disputes in Carson City in February 2018 and October 2016 and spent the weekend in the Carson City Jail in January 2012 for an unspecified offense, Furlong said.

He said Staley fired at least five shots during the standoff Saturday. Authorities became concerned the infant was in imminent danger so a SWAT team stormed the house and exchanged gunfire with him.

The Nevada Appeal reported Staley’s estranged wife told authorities he had been drinking when she called 911 to report a case of domestic battery shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday.