UPDATE Jan. 21: Washoe District Court Judge David Hardy granted the subpoena request.
David McNeely, the private investigator hired to track Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve’s vehicle with a GPS unit, evaded service for the lawsuit Schieve filed against him in December.
That’s according to court filings showing a process server attempted multiple times to provide a copy of Schieve’s lawsuit to McNeely.
Schieve, through McDonald Carano attorneys, is now requesting subpoenas to identify McNeely’s client.
Court records also show McNeely recently deleted his 5 Alpha Industries website content since the lawsuit was filed last month.
“This individual or entity is properly named as an unknown Doe/Roe defendant and the operative pleading will be amended upon the identification of the defendant,” Schieve’s attorney’s wrote. “However, the recent and concerning efforts by Defendants to evade service coupled with the risk of ongoing surveillance and tortious conduct by the unknown defendant warrant the issuance of this early discovery.
“While this request is a narrow and ordinary one – each subpoena seeks only one limited category of documents for the sole purpose of identifying the unknown defendant – the circumstances are anything but ordinary.”
The latest filings also show McNeely was interviewed about the GPS tracking unit found on Schieve’s car by Sparks police officers Nov. 30, 2022.
A heavily redacted police report partially details the interview. Two detectives interviewed McNeely.
“I informed McNeely of the discovery of the tracker on Hillary Schieve’s vehicle and how we were able to identify where the tracker came from,” Det. Peter Loeschner wrote. “McNeely said there is no threat to the mayor. He advised the intent behind the investigation was not to cause harm to anyone. He advised he was not able to provide the name of the client without a subpoena signed by a judge.”
If Schieve gets her way in Washoe County’s Second Judicial District Court, that could happen soon.
“Defendants surreptitiously installed a sophisticated GPS tracking device on the personal vehicle of Schieve, monitoring her every movement. This device was only discovered by chance when a mechanic noticed it while working on Schieve’s personal vehicle and only after it had already provided minute-by-minute updates of Schieve’s location, invaded her privacy, and exposed her to a heightened risk of harassment, stalking, and bodily harm,” Schieve’s attorneys wrote.
“Defendants have already taken noticeable and concerning steps to avoid participating in litigation,” they continued. “McNeely’s company, 5 Alpha Industries, failed to staff a registered agent that could accept service as required by Nevada law … and instead McNeely is listed as the registered agent at his home address.”
