Travis Smith today pictured outside the courtroom pled guilty to reckless driving causing death and failure to stop at the scene of a crash involving death, after bicyclist Joshua Neely was hit and killed in late May in New Washoe City.
Kendall Holcomb the public information officer for the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office wrote to Our Town Reno today indicating the first charge carries the possibility of one to six years in prison, with a $2,000 to $5,000 fine and is probation eligible.
She said the second charge carries the possibility of two to 20 years in prison, a $2,000 to $5,000 fine and is not probation eligible.
Sentencing has been scheduled for January 15th at 9 a.m. before Judge Lynne Jones.
“While he is on house arrest, he is not “confined” so he should not be accruing credit for time served while the case is pending sentencing,” Holcomb wrote us.
Smith was arrested after eventually turning himself in to face charges in the killing and was listed as being 43 at the time of his arrest.
A community fundraiser helped pay for Neely’s memorial service and started a trust fund for his three-year-old daughter Arizona. A petition was also initiated asking for a manslaughter charge, with over 1,500 verified signatures, while there was a protest recently outside Smith’s home.
The state of Nevada traffic report for this deadly crash indicates the 2019 Ford Ranger pickup Smith was driving crossed the centerline on May 28th into the northbound lane and then reentered the southbound lane before colliding with the bicyclist who was traveling southbound.
The report indicates the vehicle continued southbound on Eastlake, leaving the scene, while Neely who had been hit was left in the middle of the road, before being reported dead shortly after at a nearby hospital.
The family says defense attorney Joey Gilbert previously caused multiple delays due to his own reported scheduling conflicts.
They also fear Smith is having his multiple assets shielded with different mechanisms in anticipation of a future wrongful death lawsuit, including having a $600,000 plus valued Washoe Valley home moved into a trust as well as a homestead, according to public records from July.
The lawyer on the public document for that transfer as well as the establishment of the homestead is Kendra Jepsen. She is advertised on the Joey Gilbert website as an expert in estate planning working at the same Reno address as his offices.
For previously delayed court proceedings, Neely’s family members say they had planned to fly to Reno from out of state, and had to change their plans on short notice costing them time and money.
By looking at multiple public records, the family has identified Smith as the co-owner with his brother Brandon Smith of the kayak and SUP renting Adventure Vending LLC at Rye Patch Dam as well as part of the BS Farms family business in Orovada, which is listed to Blaine Smith on a Nevada Department of Agriculture web page, and to Clay and Kelli Smith on a Humboldt County page. The farm is well known for selling alfalfa in our region.
At the time of his death, Neeley was living with his mom, who helped him with child care, while he worked as a unionized carpenter with handyman and construction jobs on the side.
He had been living in the Reno area for about a decade, celebrating his Native American and Arizona roots by going archery hunting around Tahoe.
“He had a huge heart, and was too loyal and kind for this world,” a close friend wrote to Our Town Reno as a tribute. “Everything he did was for his daughter Arizona, who was his world. He watched my dogs and helped care for my property because he could bring his daughter here and it was safe. He loved the peacefulness of Washoe Valley.”