Sparks, Nevada

From the December 3, 2005 Reno Gazette-Journal:

A man fatally shot during an attempted burglary at a vacant house in Sparks has yet to be identified, police said Friday.

Authorities are not releasing the name of the 76-year-old property owner who shot the man with a 9 mm handgun Thursday night. Police said he has not been charged in the man's death.

Detectives could not find any identification on the dead man, detective Frank Granier said. No vehicle were parked outside, and he had entered the residence alone.

Granier said police are waiting for a fingerprint analysis from the Washoe County crime lab.

"We're confident we'll find out who he is," Granier said. "It's just a matter of time."

Police responded to a residential burglary in progress call about 6:15 p.m Thursday in the 600 block of Pyramid Way. When officers got out of the patrol car, they heard a single gunshot, police said.

They found a man lying facedown in an alley behind the house.

The property owner told police he'd come to check on the vacant house, which has been broken into before. When he arrived, he found the back door kicked in and said he could hear movement upstairs, Granier said.

The owner went inside and encountered the intruder on the second floor, Granier said. The property owner said the burglar came at him, and he shot him. The burglar stumbled out of the house and into the alley, police said.

Also discussed at December 2, 2005 KRNV channel 4.