Former deputy’s death probed

RENO -- The death of a former Washoe County sheriff's deputy who unsuccessfully sued District Attorney Dick Gammick is under investigation.

While "some writings" were found, Rene Botello's shooting death has not been declared a suicide, Lyon County sheriff's Lt. Rob Hall said.

Botello, who most recently was an investigator on the Nevada attorney general's staff, was found dead at his Dayton home Tuesday.

"Every death investigation is treated as a homicide investigation until it is proven otherwise," Hall told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

"We have a lot of interviews we need to do, a lot of background we need to develop to establish what was going on in Rene's life," he said.

Co-workers called the sheriff's office Tuesday after Botello failed to report to work for two days. Both of his vehicles were at his home, and his door was unlocked.

In November, a federal judge rejected Botello's claims that Gammick and Assistant District Attorney John Helzer intentionally retaliated against him for challenging the accuracy of child abuse reports by a unit of the prosecutor's office.

While a deputy, Botello challenged the testimony of a nurse in a sexual assault case and demanded an investigation, which Gammick denied.

Botello filed a federal lawsuit in 2003 alleging Gammick and Helzer interfered with his application to become a school district police officer and threatened to refuse to prosecute any cases involving Botello.

U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt ruled against Botello after a six-day trial in November.