Suspect in Naomi Irion disappearance served time for role in 1997 murder of meth dealer

Troy Driver was jailed for helping dispose of the body of a murder victim and several armed robberies in California aged 17

The man suspected of kidnapping missing Nevada teenager Naomi Irion was jailed in 1997 for his role in the murder of a meth dealer and other violent crimes.

Troy Driver, 41, pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder, three charges of second-degree robbery, firearms charges and burglary, according to a report in the Ukiah Daily Journal.

Driver, then aged 17, reportedly helped his girlfriend Alissa Marie Moore dispose of the body of a methamphetamine dealer Paul Stephen Rodriguez in Willits, California.

Driver, Moore and another teenager lured Rodriguez to a secluded area where she shot him in the head, and they then dumped his body in wooded area in Mendocino County, according to the Ukiah Daily Journal.

Driver was sentenced to 15 years and served around 12 for being an accessory to murder, the robberies of a convenience store and two service stations, a burglary for a separate break-in and using a firearm charge in the commission of the crimes.

Troy Driver, 41, was arrested and charged with kidnapping in connection with the disappearance of Naomi Irion, 18, who remains missing (Lyon County Sheriff’s Office)

Meanwhile, authorities continue to search for Ms Irion, who disappeared from a Walmart parking lot in Fernley, Nevada, on 12 March.

The 18-year-old had recently moved to Nevada to live with her brother Casey Valley, who has appealed for help in finding her.

Mr Valley told The Independent his sister had been raised in a “sheltered environment in the diplomatic community” and didn’t have a lot of freedom.

Naomi Iriom kidnapping suspect Troy Driver pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder aged 17 in 1997 (Ukiah Daily Journal/newspapers.com)

Nearly two weeks after Ms Irion disappeared from the Walmart parking lot, the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office arrested Mr Driver at a property in Fallon.

Driver is scheduled to make his first court appearance at Canal Township Justice Court in Fernley, Nevada, on Wednesday. 

Lyon County Sheriff’s Office say the search for Ms Irion remains a “very active investigation”.