RGJ photographer arrested after altercation with security guards near Tesla gigafactory

A Reno Gazette-Journal photographer was arrested Friday after an altercation with private security guards protecting the Tesla gigafactory site in Storey County.

Andy Barron was booked on a charge of battery with a deadly weapon, Storey County Sheriff Gerald Antinoro said.

“He was arrested after an altercation with the security guards when they attempted to detain him for trespassing,” Antinoro said.

Antinoro said Barron tried to drive away from guards and “either hit or almost hit one or more of the security officers.”

“They were stopped at that point in time and detained until my people got there and conducted an investigation that led to the arrest of whoever was driving the vehicle,” Antinoro said.

Reno Gazette-Journal Publisher John Maher said the newspaper is taking the incident seriously.

“We take this situation very seriously and it is under investigation at this time,” Maher said.

Barron has been a photographer at the Reno Gazette-Journal since 1998.

The newspaper’s vehicle was damaged in the altercation. A rock had been used to shatter the driver’s-side window and the driver’s-side seat belt had been cut in half.

Antinoro said he couldn’t confirm how that damage occurred.

Antinoro said he didn’t know if the security guards worked directly for Tesla or were employed by a company contracted to work at the site. He said their names were unavailable.

“They did have contract security at one point in time,” Antinoro said. “I was led to believe they were discontinuing the contract security and having their own people.”

A Tesla spokeswoman did not return a phone call seeking comment.

The $5 billion gigafactory, which will manufacture lithium-ion batteries for Tesla, has been under construction since May 2014. The Reno Gazette-Journal has been documenting the construction process from the beginning.

The factory is taking advantage of up to $1.25 billion in tax incentives approved by the Nevada Legislature last year.