Reno Arch protester who punched truck passenger avoids jail
RENO — One of the protesters at a Native American rally in Reno in October has been sentenced to 16 hours community service after he admitted punching a passenger in a pickup truck that drove into the demonstrators near the city’s famous arch.
Samuel Harry pleaded guilty to misdemeanor simple battery in Reno Municipal Court Tuesday as part of a plea agreement stemming from the Columbus Day altercation.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports the 21-year-old man who does work for the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony told Judge Tammy Riggs that he has learned his lesson.
The truck driver, 18-year-old Nicholas Mahaffey, is scheduled to go to trial March 1 on a charge of provoking an assault. Police say his truck allegedly knocked 59-year-old Kitty Colbert to the ground, seriously injuring her.
