Reno police arrest man who was paroled in 1988 Henderson murder

A Henderson man who served more than 20 years in prison for stabbing his girlfriend to death was arrested on Sunday after telling Reno police he had killed another woman.

Zollie Edward Dumas, 61, was met by Reno police on Sunday when they went to a motel room on a domestic disturbance call and found a woman’s body. According to police, Dumas told officers he had killed her.

Dumas was arrested and booked on parole violation charges — parole he was placed on in the Southern Nevada case.

Dumas was arrested for the Jun 27, 1988 stabbing death of Angela Griffin. She was clearing her belongings out of their shared trailer and was accompanied by Henderson police officers for protection because Dumas had become obsessive about her, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

However, Dumas hid in the bathroom and attacked her with a steak knife while the officers were outside.

Dumas, who also went by the name Sabrina Dumas, was initially sentenced to two life terms without parole, but the conviction was overturned 10 years later and he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder instead. His 1997 plea bargain made him eligible for parole after five more years in prison.

It took quite a bit longer than that. In fall 2013, after nearly a dozen parole hearings and more than two decades in prison, Dumas was released.

He didn’t stay out of custody for long. After being arrested Sunday in connection with the Reno homicide investigation, he is now in Washoe County Jail with no court date set yet and is being held without bail.

Contact reporter Annalise Porter at aporter@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0391.