WINNEMUCCA - According to a press release from the Winnemucca Police Department, former WPD employee Matthew S. Haylett, 27, turned himself in to the Washoe County Detention Center in Reno on Nov. 3 on a felony charge of coercion.
The felony complaint filed by the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office alleges that between the dates of Dec. 27, 2010, and Jan. 10, 2011, the defendant abused and misused his position as an adult and a police officer by engaging a 15-year-old girl in the exchange of over 2,400 phone text messages. The complaint further alleges that many of the text messages were of a sexual nature, including messages from the defendant to the girl requesting inappropriate photographs and offers to come to the girl's residence to pick her up. The complaint states that the defendant allegedly coerced the girl to send him one clothed picture, one partially clothed picture and one totally nude picture of herself. The probable cause narrative on the case was written by Detective Scott Smith of the Nevada Public Safety Investigation Division. Smith had been assigned to investigate the case on Jan. 11.
According to the narrative, Officer Jeff Dawson of the Humboldt County School District located text messages on the girl's cell phone exchanged with the defendant on Jan. 10. Dawson applied for and received a search warrant on Jan. 11 for phone records for both the defendant and the girl dated Dec. 27, 2010, through Jan. 10, 2011. The narrative states that a total of 2,495 text messages had been exchanged between the two individuals.
Smith and Detective Will Thurston, also of DPS - ID, served Haylett with a search warrant on Jan. 12 to seize Haylett's cell phone and interview Haylett.
Smith applied for and received a search warrant on Jan. 13 to access the content on the defendant's phone and memory card, according to the narrative.
The narrative further reports that the investigation yielded that the felony crimes of luring a child under the age of 16 and possession of visual presentation depicting sexual conduct under the age of 16 may have been committed by the defendant. The document states that Smith was informed that due to negotiations between Haylett's defense attorney and the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office, Haylett was to be booked for the Category B felony charge of coercion under NRS 207.190.
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