runFelony warrant issued for Schurz motel owner

The Road Runner Motel in Schurz sits vacant again as the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office issued a felony warrant for owner, Raghvendra “Raj” Singh, who purchased the motel in October of 2013 for $105,000.

The raid took place on Sept. 3 on a warrant issued to Walker River Tribal Police. It yielded over a half a million dollars’ worth of drugs on the property. Located during the raid were loaded guns and cellphones.

“Similar raids conducted at Mr. Singh’s properties in California have also yielded the same results [marijuana plants]. The warrant for Singh was issued by the Mineral County District Attorney’s office in conjunction with the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office. It is a $25,000 cash only warrant for felony drug charges.”

The raids in California were also conducted last week where officer’s confiscated over 100 marijuana plants and many smaller plants.  Other properties in California were identified as cultivation sights, but were not raided. A pattern of Singh’s shows that he scoops up foreclosed property with acreage and starts grow operations. He is also a suspect in an incident where one of his condemned properties caught fire and a woman perished in the blaze.

“Simplistically put, this is a person who needs to be incarcerated, plain and simple,” said Mineral County Sheriff Stewart Handte, who has hope that California will make contact with the wanted individual.

After the raid, Singh contact the Mineral County Sheriff. During the hour long conversation, Handte was convinced that Singh had knowledge of the happenings at the Road Runner Motel.

We will be diligent in locating and taking custody of Mr. Singh so he can be arraigned on the charges and stand trial for these charges which occurred from the incident at the Road Runner Motel,” Handte said.

A strange coincidence happened when researching the owner of the property when investigators found that another Raj Singh had previously owned the property. With the assistance of Sheriff Greg Hagwood of Plumas County, California, they were able to correctly identify the owner and focus their attention towards Raghvendra “Raj” Singh.

Handte is confident that Singh will be brought into custody. He suggests it would be easier if his [Singh’s] attorney would contact Sean Rowe, the Mineral County District Attorney and make arrangements to turn himself in and have an arraignment through Justice Court.”

“The raid was a prime example of two agencies working together. Chief Barnes deserves the credit for gathering the information needed to secure the warrant. It is a shining example of working together to get the drugs off the streets and get the drug operation away from the school.” Handte explains.

“The Schurz Elementary School was put on lockdown because time was of the essence. At the time the information was gathered, we needed to act and act quickly. Once information is out, people begin to talk. If we would have had time, we could have raided the motel after nightfall. Located within the hotel were guns. This should infuriate any parent of a child in that school.”

Until California officers make contact with Singh, he is considered a wanted man by the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office.