Charges dismissed

Read part 1, part 2 and part 3.

Joseph and Kera Turner, who escaped the Dixie Fire in August of 2021, were arrested after being ordered to evacuate their California property and after they temporarily moved to Reno. Five days after they fled the fire, the Turners were arrested in the North Valleys for possessing stolen property, a truck and trailer.

The stolen property charges against them were dismissed last year—a year after their arrest. 

“I got the DA to dismiss the charges,” said attorney Byron Bergeron, who defended the Turners in the criminal case. “That is an admission that they never should have brought the charges to begin with. The Turners easily proved they were buying the truck—they had the bill of sale.” 

The babysitter who was watching the Turners’ toddler and adolescent alleged the toddler was being abused.

That was also a fabrication, Bergeron said. Against their knowledge, the toddler, a baby at the time, was taken to Renown Regional Medical Center before the Turners were arrested amd without their knowledge and consent. An examination was performed on the child. The Turners only found out about the exam when Renown sent them a bill for $1,500. 

“There was suspected sexual abuse due to a diaper rash,” Kera said. Their daughter was already being treated for the rash at the time, and notes from Renown confirmed the inflammation.

A report from Lassen County Child Protective Services, which took over their case from Washoe County, even questioned the allegations made by Washoe County for why the pair were arrested.

“It is notable that in the sheriff’s report and witness statements from August 21, 2021, there is no indication that drug paraphernalia, prescription bottles of oxycodone, or burnt foil were found in or near the trailer in question,” a social worker wrote. “It makes no sense to this supervisor that such things would be present without any mention in a report by law enforcement, particularly when firearms, mail, and a license plate belonging to Mr. Turner were enumerated in the report.”

Lassen County CPS also could not substantiate the allegations of child abuse and neglect by Washoe County CPS.

“Mr. and Mrs. Turner denied using illicit substances, possessing drug paraphernalia, or leaving burnt foil in the travel trailer,” the social worker continued. “This supervisor was unable to locate any credible evidence that would support the above allegation. Further, the unattributed hearsay of ‘collaterals’ found in (Washoe County Human Services Agency’s) disposition report was not corroborated in the record, and the report was not signed under penalty of perjury.”

“Our goal is to keep kids with their families whenever we have the opportunity.”

Washoe County Human Services Agency Director Ryan Gustafson said he was unfamiliar with what happened to the Turners. Still, he said he could not comment on specific cases anyway, citing privacy laws. He said removing a child from a household is not common.

“We have removed less kids each year for the last five years,” he told This Is Reno. “Our goal is to keep kids with their families whenever we have the opportunity.”

Gustafson also said “it gets tricky” when those children are from out of state, as with the Turners.

“If there were an allegation, we would do a report and investigation … that actually starts on the phone where we ask a series of very specific questions,” he said. “(That is) to see if it reaches a threshold of where we, the agency, would deem it appropriate for us to come out and investigate the situation. 

“If it reaches the threshold of investigation, we will actually send a team of assessment workers out hopefully not to interrogate, (but) it would just be more to have a conversation with the family (and) have perhaps a conversation with the child,” Gustafson added. 

The Turners said that did not happen in their case. While staying at a hotel, and while their children were with the babysitter in Lemmon Valley, they got a call from CPS “and (were) berated for alleged drug abuse,” they alleged. 

CPS social workers told them to speak with them at the Lemmon Valley property. They rolled up in their car with sheriff’s deputies pointing guns and shouting for them to get out of their vehicle with their hands up. A police report reveals the Turners were interviewed while in handcuffs after being arrested. Body-worn cameras were either not filming during this time, or footage was not provided to This Is Reno as part of a public records order placed with WCSO.

Sheriff’s deputies, based on a call by the Lemmon Valley babysitter, Amy Vickers-Manha, resulted in CPS social workers going to Vickers-Manha’s house. Vickers-Manha told WCSO about the vehicle and travel trailer left on their property, which were suspected of being stolen. She said she was “unaware of Kera and Joseph’s whereabouts.”

The Turners disputed that, saying they visited daily to see their children and feed their farm animals. They said Vickers-Manha knew where they were staying and how to get ahold of them. (Attempts to reach Vickers-Manha for comment were unsuccessful.)

“(Vickers-Manha) had called CPS because they believed the parents were drug addicts and are worried about the welfare of the children,” WCSO’s Zachary Shipton wrote in a report after the arrest.

The stolen property charges were dismissed after the Turners provided a copy of a bill of sale for the truck. No drugs were ever found by law enforcement or social workers, according to court records. 

The Turners said they want justice after what they said were numerous false allegations and mistakes made by Washoe County’s Human Services Agency and the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office.

“The paperwork speaks for itself,” Kera said.

Read part five tomorrow: “Missing property.” Subscribe to read the seven-part series.