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Man Accused Of Kidnapping Naomi Irion From Walmart Parking Lot Now Charged With Sexual Assault
Prosecutors believe Naomi Irion was raped sometime between when she was abducted from a Fernley, Nevada Walmart parking lot and when her body was dumped in a rural part of Churchill County.
The man accused of kidnapping teenager Naomi Irion from a Nevada Walmart in March and then killing her is now facing charges of sexual assault in the case.
Troy Driver, a 41-year-old mining services worker, was already facing charges of murder and kidnapping in Irion’s death after the 18-year-old’s remains were discovered buried in a remote makeshift gravesite in March, but an amended criminal complaint filed this week in Lyon County provides new details about the teen’s terrifying final moments and adds a felony sexual assault charge.
The complaint, obtained by Oxygen.com, alleges that Driver abducted Irion from a Fernley, Nevada Walmart parking lot on the morning of March 12 as she waited for a shuttle bus to her job at Panasonic and then raped, killed and buried her in a rural area of Churchill County.
Authorities believe that Driver carried out the sexual assault somewhere between 1550 E. Newlands Dr. in Fernley, Nevada and Churchill County.
They alleged in the complaint that Driver “did willfully and unlawfully subject another person to sexual penetration against the person’s will or under conditions in which the perpetrator knew or should have known that the victim is mentally or physically incapable of resisting or understanding the nature of the conduct.”
It went on to describe the alleged assault as “anal penetration” and said they believed Driver had kidnapped the teen “with the intent to commit sexual assault, and/or the concealment of said crime.”
Irion’s remains were discovered on March 25 in a remote makeshift grave.
She had been shot in the chest and head, per previous reporting.
Authorities believe Driver tried to conceal the alleged crime by changing out the tires on his truck and destroying or concealing Irion’s cell phone.
He was allegedly captured on surveillance footage approaching Irion’s vehicle on the morning of March 12 as she waited for the shuttle, forcing his way into the driver’s seat before driving off a minute later, according to an earlier statement from the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office.
Her vehicle was later discovered abandoned next to the Sherman Williams Western Emulsion plant, not far from the Walmart, according to the FBI.
Driver’s attorney, Richard Davies, filed a motion at the end of June to dismiss the case, arguing that Irion’s body had been discovered in Churchill County not Lyon County, where the case is currently being prosecuted, according to the Reno Gazette Journal.
However, Lyon County District Attorney Stephen Rye objected to the request in a new court filing obtained by the outlet.
“The sexual assault occurred during the course of the kidnapping, which started in Lyon County and continued into Churchill County,” Rye wrote. “The felony murder theory is dependent upon the kidnapping, a crime committed in part in one county and in part in another.”
Additional details of why prosecutors feel the location of the charges is appropriate is expected to be discussed during a three-day preliminary hearing planned for September, Rye said.
Driver is also facing charges of robbery with the use of a deadly weapon, ownership or possession of a firearm by persons prohibited, burglary of a motor vehicle and destroying evidence in connection with the case.
Davies told Fox News earlier this year that Driver maintains his innocence.
