Charles Edward Wilkinson, a 27-year-old White/Caucasian male, was killed on the night of February 13, 2025, in the Kingslane neighborhood of Gardnerville, Nevada. At approximately 10:20 p.m., neighbors in the 1200 block of Kingslane Court reported hearing gunfire, prompting Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputies to respond. When deputies arrived, they found Wilkinson dead from multiple apparent gunshot wounds.
Although some initial law-enforcement reporting described him as being from Minden, later local reporting referred to him as a Gardnerville resident and identified the location of the shooting as his Kingslane home. Authorities treated the death as a homicide and quickly focused their investigation on Gary Allen Dillishaw of Carson City, who was related to Wilkinson as a cousin by marriage.
Investigators determined there was probable cause to believe Dillishaw had killed Wilkinson and said he fled the Gardnerville area following the shooting. Early reports identified his vehicle as a white 2009 Acura and warned that he should be considered armed and dangerous. More detailed subsequent court testimony described Mineral County authorities spotting the vehicle during the early morning hours of February 14 as it traveled south on U.S. Highway 95 between Hawthorne and Luning. Deputies followed it onto Garfield Flat Road near Mina and attempted to stop it. Once emergency lights and sirens were activated, the driver accelerated on the dirt and icy roadway before the vehicle ultimately became disabled.
After the vehicle stopped, Dillishaw fled into the desert on foot. Authorities said he had a cell phone in one hand and a handgun in the other as deputies closed in. A Mineral County Sheriff’s Office K-9 was deployed, causing him to drop the firearm, and deputies took him into custody at approximately 6:15 a.m. on February 14. He was initially booked in Mineral County on the Douglas County murder allegation and was later transferred into Douglas County custody. The arrest came only hours after Wilkinson was discovered, ending the overnight search for the person investigators believed responsible for the shooting.
As the case moved into court, prosecutors alleged that Dillishaw fired a 9 mm Ruger repeatedly at Wilkinson. Local reporting characterized the accusation as Dillishaw emptying the handgun into Wilkinson at the Kingslane residence. Prosecutors eventually amended the criminal complaint to allege first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Wilkinson’s mother, grandfather, aunts and sister appeared in court and submitted statements opposing Dillishaw’s release. East Fork Justice of the Peace Laurie Trotter subsequently ordered Dillishaw held without bail while the homicide prosecution continued.
The preliminary stages of the murder case were repeatedly extended during 2025. Dillishaw first appeared with newly appointed counsel shortly after his arrest, when his attorney requested additional time to examine the complaint and evidence before addressing arraignment and bail. A preliminary hearing originally expected earlier in the year was ultimately held in August. At that hearing, the court found sufficient evidence to bind Dillishaw over for trial on first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by an ex-felon. The ruling meant the prosecution had presented enough evidence for the homicide charges to continue in district court; it was not a finding of guilt.
Dillishaw also accumulated separate criminal problems while incarcerated awaiting resolution of Wilkinson’s killing. In 2025 he was accused of attacking other prisoners in custody, including allegations that he punched one inmate in the jaw and neck and another in the ribs. By 2026 he was serving a 19-to-48-month prison sentence arising from three instances of battery on a prisoner and faced an additional battery allegation. Those offenses were separate from the Wilkinson homicide prosecution, but they resulted in Dillishaw being housed at Northern Nevada Correctional Center as the murder case remained pending.
As of the most recent reporting available before August 10, 2026, Dillishaw had not been convicted of Wilkinson’s murder. A 12-day jury trial was scheduled to begin November 2, 2026, in Douglas County, with the prosecution proceeding on the allegations arising from the February 2025 shooting. Reporting in July 2026 continued to describe Dillishaw as the murder suspect and confirmed that the November trial remained scheduled. Consequently, the case had produced an arrest, continued detention, formal first-degree murder and firearm charges, and a judicial finding that sufficient evidence existed to send the charges to trial, but no homicide trial verdict or murder conviction had yet been reported.
