Troy Driver is the Nevada construction supervisor accused in the kidnapping of Naomi Irion, an 18-year-old woman who disappeared from a parking lot in Fernley.
Tragically, sheriff’s officials now say they found Irion’s body in a remote gravesite in Churchill County.
The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office announced that it had arrested Driver, 41, from Fallon, Nevada, in a March 25, 2022, press release.
He is being held on charges of kidnapping. “We have located the truck in question and it has been impounded and taken into evidence,” sheriff’s officials said in a news release.
Irion, a worker at Panasonic, disappeared on March 12, 2022, and police believe that she was kidnapped from her car in a parking lot at Walmart on Newlands Drive.
VINE Link gives the suspect’s name as Troy Edward Driver and date of birth in April; online records show he has a social security number issued in California. Troy Edward Driver, date of birth April 20, 1980, was convicted at age 17 in Ukiah, California, of a string of robberies after admitting involvement in the murder of a reputed drug dealer named Paul Rodriguez, according to old newspaper articles.
VINELINK
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Irion Is Still Missing; Troy Edward Driver Has a Violent Criminal History in California
Lyon County SheriffNaomi Irion.
Despite the suspect’s arrest, sheriff’s officials say they have not found Irion.
“This is still a very active investigation and more information will be released as it becomes available. Naomi has still not been located, and we are continuing to search for her and information,” the Sheriff’s release says.
The old newspaper articles, accessed through Newspapers.com, say that the victim in Ukiah, California, was a “reputed Willits drug dealer” named Paul Rodriguez. He was shot to death in the driveway of the Driver family home by his 18 year old girlfriend, according to a 1998 article in the Ukiah Daily Journal. Troy Edward Driver and another teen “stuffed Rodrigeuz’s body into the trunk of his car and dumped it off a highway. The article says that Driver’s sister, Sharla Renee Driver Cassidy, also referred to as Sharla Driver, was also convicted in connection with the slaying.
His sister was accused of overhearing “the trio planning to kill Rodriguez” and drove the car used to lure him to his death. She also admitted to driving a getaway car in a series of convenience store robberies that Troy Driver said he committed to try to get money to pay his sister’s airfare to Italy, the newspaper article reports.
A 1997 article in the Ukiah Daily Journal says that Rodriguez was a methamphetamine dealer, and that Troy Edward Driver also pleaded guilty to three charges of second-degree robbery of a Ukiah Circle K convenience store and Chevron service stations, as well as a break-in of a Willits Coast-to-Coast hardware store. He admitted using a firearm, and was to be sentenced to 15 years for those crimes and his involvement in Rodriguez’s death.
Mendocino County court records show he was sentenced to 15 years for three robbery with a firearm charges and a burglary charge.
2. Officials Previously Released Surveillance Video of the Suspect
On March 16, 2022, sheriff’s officials released surveillance images of the suspect.
“Here are photos of Naomi the morning she was last seen and what she was wearing at that time. The last 2 photos are from video surveillance of the suspect,” they wrote.
“We are aware that the suspect photo is not much to go on at this time and we are working diligently to get better photos of the suspect. Thank you to everyone for your continued support.”
The Sheriff’s Department debunked social media posts that Irion was found in an abandoned home in Reno, Nevada, saying they are false.
Authorities wrote in a timeline that Irion parked at the Fernley Walmart at 5:09 a.m. She was active on social media until 5:23 a.m. Her last Snapchat ping came at 5:23 a.m. At 5:24 a.m., the suspect was seen at Irion’s vehicle. At 5:25 a.m., her vehicle left Walmart. Her vehicle was recovered on March 15, 2022. She waited at the Walmart store for a shuttle to her Panasonic job.
3. Driver Has Worked in Construction
A LinkedIn page shows that Driver has worked in construction and for a mining company as a safety coordinator and project supervisor. He’s also lived in Elko, Nevada.
NyNews4 reported that Driver was taken into custody at a home off Alcorn Road in Fernley, Nevada, and officials impounded his truck.
Video showed the truck being carted away from the home.
4. A Break in the Case Came When Authorities Shared Photos of a Suspect Vehicle
A break in the case came when authorities shared photos of a suspect vehicle.
On March 24, sheriff’s officials wrote that they had identified the vehicle and occupant(s) that appear in a Walmart video minutes before Naomi was abducted.
Officials said the vehicle was parked in the lot at around 5:15 a.m., and then drove around the median and parked without its lights on. The suspect “is seen walking directly in front of this parked vehicle.”
5. Naomi’s Mother Says There Was ‘Suspicious Activity or Violence’ in Her Car
Naomi’s mother Diane Irion spoke with the “All American Dream Chaser” on YouTube.
“She’s such an amazing person. She’s very strong, she’s very intelligent. She’s kind and compassionate. She is generous and giving. She’s one of the most amazing young women. She’s lived all over the world,” the mother said.
Diane Irion said that there was evidence of “suspicious activity or violence inside the car.” She added: “Hopefully law enforcement can find something, anything, that will distinguish this person, this monster, from other people. What kind of person does that? Takes an 18-year-old girl. Someone’s daughter, sister, from their family, hurts them. What kind of monster does that? It’s evil. It’s wrong.”
The Houston-born Irion graduated from the American International School Johannesburg in South Africa, where her parents live, according to her mother’s interview. The mother said the Naomi’s dad works for the U.S. Department of State in the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, where the parents live.
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