Roger Hillygus and Stewart Handte kidnapped Hillygus’ mother from a care facility, authorities said. (Mug shots: Washoe County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
A man and his co-defendant — a former sheriff — pleaded no contest on Wednesday in kidnapping the man’s elderly mother after a yearslong family court battle over the woman’s guardianship, according to Fox Reno affiliate KRXI. Sentencing is scheduled for March 29.
This means that Roger Hillygus, 57, and accomplice Stewart Handte, 63, do not admit to the criminal case as charged, though they have conceded to accepting punishment in the state’s case.
Local reporting from outlets in the area of Reno, Nevada, stated that according to cops, defendants Hillygus and Handte — the latter of whom is former sheriff of Mineral County and former police chief of Reno-Sparks Indian Colony — walked into a care facility in 2019 with an ostensible legal order claiming he had guardianship of Susan Hillygus, who lived with dementia. Defendant Hillygus told a Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter it was a “jury verdict.” But it was not a verdict. It was written by a group purporting to protect people’s constitutional rights. The Review-Journal outright called the document a “sham.”
It was the end of a contentious family dispute. Hillygus had been kicked out as the mother’s guardian in 2015. It was a bumpy case, with a number of his attorneys reportedly asking to leave, and with an opposing lawyer trying to get him named a “vexatious litigant” for allegedly frivolous and defamatory motions. He reportedly accused his sister, attorneys, the judge, and even court-appointed guardians of conspiring against him.
Such belligerence continued throughout the kidnapping case.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Hillygus, who was representing himself, according to a Feb. 18, 2020, report from Reno NBC affiliate KRNV. “This is more of a cover-up because this cover-up goes deep, it goes deep. I’ve filed complaints with the governor, with the attorney general.”
As for Handte, he reportedly did not show up for an appointment in 2022 to be fitted with a GPS monitor and told Reno ABC affiliate KOLO he feared for his life and reiterated his refusal to wear the monitor. He was arrested in September 2023 for violating his conditions of release by leaving Washoe County and traveling to Carson City, Nevada, according to This Is Reno.
At the time, the judge voiced frustration with the state and defense showing up to court scheduled for a negotiated plea without there actually being a plea. Hillygus reportedly claimed the state was withholding exculpatory evidence.
Contrary to Hillygus’ complaints, District Court Judge Barry Breslow blamed the defendants and the COVID-19 pandemic on delays.
“Mr. Hillygus was out of this jurisdiction on warrant status for close to six months or nine months, and that added quite a bit [of time],” he said, according to This Is Reno. “And then when we were set to go to trial a month ago … the collective response was, ‘no’. If anyone is frustrated, the people are equally frustrated.”
Hillygus is currently locked up at the Washoe County Jail. Handte, who faced a trial scheduled to begin on Monday, was out.
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