ELKO – A Carlin man originally arrested on attempted murder charges in 2018 will be released from prison next month after serving time on lesser charges.
Kent Gamez, 33, has been arrested 25 times since 2004, including juvenile offenses, according to jail and court records. He was arrested in July 2018 on multiple felony charges after he allegedly fired a rifle during a high-speed chase on Interstate 80.
Elko police reported at the time that Gamez had been in an altercation with other patrons at a downtown bar and left around 3 a.m., reportedly threatening to “come back and shoot them.” When officers tried to stop his car Gamez led them on a chase at speeds up to 60 mph in a residential zone. Then he got on I-80 and an officer observed him holding a rifle out the window and firing it as they chased him at speeds up to 110 mph.
Gamez was originally arrested on two counts of attempted murder, two counts of discharging a gun from within a vehicle, two counts of attempted mistreatment of a police animal, and driver disobeying a peace officer and endangering others.
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In January 2020 he pleaded guilty but mentally ill to one count of resisting a public officer with the use of a firearm, one count of eluding a police officer in a manner posing danger to persons or property, and one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. He was sentenced to five years in prison by District Judge Al Kacin and provided treatment for mental illness.
Gamez was granted parole during a hearing in April, and will be released from High Desert State Prison in July. That’s a year earlier than his expected release.
According to Elko Daily Free Press files, Gamez has been arrested on previous charges including reckless driving, hit and run, drawing a deadly weapon, speeding, breaking windows at two Carlin bars, drunken driving, and escaping custody.
He was also arrested in February 2015 at the Pilot Travel Center in Carlin for intimidating an officer and provoking assault, but the Elko County Sheriff’s Office declined to file charges in the case, according to Elko Justice Court records.
Gamez was also arrested in February 2008 in Carlin on a charge of unlawful act related to human bodily fluid, and sentenced to prison.