By Tammy Krikorian and Kristin S. Larseni
Reno Gazette Journal
RENO — A standoff that began about 6 a.m. Sunday ended more than 34 hours later when the suspect was found dead in his Sun Valley home.
Dale Herman Mattson, 45, was found about 4:30 p.m. Monday after an extensive search of his home on the 300 block of Gepford Parkway by the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office.
The cause of death remains under investigation.
The standoff began when deputy sheriffs attempted to serve Mattson with a felony arrest warrant accusing him of making a bomb threat or use of explosives.
Mattson pulled out a handgun, but the deputies took it from him, authorities said. Mattson then ran back into the house, grabbed a shotgun and fired at the officers but missed, Washoe County Deputy Sheriff Brooke Keast said.
The SWAT team, hostage negotiators and other tactical teams worked to resolve the incident. Mattson refused to communicate with negotiators, and repeatedly shot at SWAT team members, authorities said.
SWAT team members fired several rounds of tear gas into the home, but Mattson did not surrender.
About 8 a.m. Monday, the SWAT team and Mattson exchanged gunfire, Keast said. Mattson never responded after that exchange.
SWAT team members moved through the house with caution throughout the day and also sent in a bomb squad robot to look for Mattson.
“You have to go step by step when you know someone is that well armed,” Keast said earlier in the day. “It is very slow going. He has been very good at eluding us.”
Loud popping sounds were heard coming from the house during the day.
John Marks, 49, of Sun Valley, who is a lifelong friend of Mattson, said Monday afternoon that Mattson had been a good son to his parents and a good maintenance man.
“This is a sad, tragic thing,” Marks said.
According to the Reno
Gazette-Journal archives, Dale Mattson’s mother, Bertha, died on April 13 and his father, Robert, died last year.
“He was heartbroken (after his parent’s death), but he had his friends around him,” Marks said.
A half-brother, Dennis Mattson of St. Cloud, Minn., who was reached by phone Monday afternoon, said neither he nor his other half-brother, Daniel, had spoken with Dale Mattson since February.
“He needs someone there to help him,” Dennis Mattson said earlier in the day. “We knew he needed help because he always had his mother and father to look after him.”
Dennis Mattson described his half-brother as a good person, saying he was “kind and thoughtful and never would harm anyone two years ago.”
But when Dennis and Daniel Mattson visited in February, Dale Mattson tried to cause a disturbance, Dennis Mattson said. Rather than having a confrontation, the brothers decided to leave, Dennis Mattson said.
“He’s got a hot temper. We didn’t want anyone to get hurt,” Dennis Mattson said. “It’s sad. It shouldn’t have to happen that way.”
Sun Valley residents who were evacuated from their homes as a precaution were allowed to return by Monday evening.
Copyright 2008 Reno Gazette Journal