Sparks Man Who Shot Unarmed Man and Woman Pleads Not Guilty

By Jay Bartos

Published September 10, 2014 at 6:46 PM PDT

A homeowner accused of murder and attempted murder in the shooting of two unarmed trespassers in Sparks has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Wayne Burgarello was arraigned Wednesday. His next court date is set for Oct. 15.

The 73-year-old former schoolteacher was arrested in May in the killing of 34-year-old Cody Devine and the serious wounding of a woman he found inside his often-burglarized, vacant duplex in February. He was released from jail in August when he posted $150,000 bail that had been reduced from $2 million. Burgarello claims he was acting in self-defense in the case that has drawn attention to Nevada's "stand your ground" law.
Copyright 2015 KNPR-FM. To see more, visit http://www.knpr.org/.

Tags

Jay Bartos

Jay Bartos joined Nevada Public Radio in 1993 to develop and manage the state’s first radio reading service for people unable to use standard printed material due to blindness or another disability. After the reading service was discontinued in 2011, he became the afternoon host on KNPR for ten years. Jay can now be heard on air on News 88.9 KNPR and Classical 89.7 KCNV throughout the week.

See stories by Jay Bartos