Public Speakers Call Out Karma Box After Top Employee Identified in Recent Domestic Violence Arrest
Emails and messages from Our Town Reno to county commissioners, the Karma Box Project and its executive director Grant Denton have gone unanswered as to the fate of Mat Grimsley, still listed on the non profit’s website as their Safe Camp Supervisor.
Grimsley was identified as being booked in Washoe County jail on November 22nd on a third offense of a battery domestic violence charge with a $50,000 bond amount.
“I fully believe in second chances but when the behavior is consistent and still continues it comes to a point you have to really look at the bigger picture,” his wife Marissa Grimsley said when she spoke at this week’s Community Homelessness Advisory Board meeting, which was gathering for the first time in over 18 months.
“I feel the employees they hire need to be held to a higher standard, given the sensitive people they are required to help.” She said she just learned about her husband having an active warrant allegedly from Georgia when he was hired at Karma Box, which is contracted by the county to run the Safe Camp of mod pods at the Cares Campus.
Kimberly Koschmann also spoke after her previous public speaking complaint in May 2024 concerning alleged improper behavior toward women by Denton in different local recovery spaces had led to an official investigation. In previous media interviews, he has denied any wrongdoing.
“Has [Sandra] Ketner ever not sided with the county on an investigation?” Koschmann asked pointing to the investigation conducted by the attorney from the Simons Hall Johnston law firm which she feels was too narrow. It found no evidence of wrongdoing at the Safe Camp.
“While positive changes can be made in sobriety, people are not also miraculously absolved of their anger, manipulation tactics, violence and repeated patterns. Repeat domestic violence offenders are not good candidates to work with vulnerable populations,” Koschmann said.
“When I look at what’s going on at Karma Box at the Nevada Cares Campus and Safe Camp it concerns me. Are we as a county looking the other way? Are we allowing them to keep working because it’s just easier, because that way the County doesn’t have to step up, find a new provider and do the right thing?” Candy Greene, the editor of Senior ResQ Magazine asked, before concluding: “I think it’s time we do the right thing.”
Prior to moving to Reno from the Las Vegas area to work in local recovery services, Denton himself faced multiple charges and was previously jailed for a second domestic battery offense in 2011, according to City of Henderson court records, and was arrested again in that case for failing to pay a warrant.
In our emails we also asked about any explanations as to why Dana Searcy, previously the division director for Housing and Homeless Services, abruptly left her position in September, and to who might replace her, but received no responses for that either.
The board’s new chair, Washoe County Commissioner Mike Clark, currently running to retain his District 2 seat, said he wants to schedule three meetings next year, after anger from advocates the issue of local homelessness was not getting regular public dedicated meetings anymore.
Unlike previous CHAB meetings, this one was on Zoom but wasn’t on YouTube live. It was added to that platform later, although the endings of some of the statements couldn’t be heard.
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