STATELINE, Nev. — A traffic stop just after midnight Wednesday on U.S. Highway 50 near Warrior Way ended with the arrest of a Reno man after Douglas County Sheriff’s Office K9 “Bubba” alerted to narcotics, leading deputies to more than five ounces of suspected methamphetamine and a small amount of fentanyl, authorities said.
Christopher George Zahradnik, 41, was booked after deputies reported finding a large plastic bag of crystalline substance in a backpack and just under 2 grams of fentanyl in his Nissan, according to court reporting by The Record-Courier. The stop occurred on the Nevada side of the South Shore, minutes from the El Dorado County line.
The case echoes Zahradnik’s prior Douglas County conviction: he pleaded in 2022 after a K9 named Riko sniffed out 6.38 ounces of meth during a May 20, 2021 stop. He was later sentenced to 30–78 months and, according to prosecutors, was recently released from prison.
Zahradnik appeared Thursday morning in Tahoe Township Justice Court, where Judge Michael Johnson set bail at $25,000 bondable or $10,000 cash and scheduled a Tuesday court date. Johnson, appointed in 2023 and elected to a full term in 2024, presides over cases spanning the Stateline-to-Kingsbury corridor.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Chelsea Mazza told the court Zahradnik was recently paroled; through attorney Matthew Stermitz, Zahradnik denied he remains on parole following his 2022 sentencing. All charges are allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The sheriff’s K-9 unit has expanded in recent years. Bubba, a German shepherd added to the team through a local family’s donation, has been highlighted by the agency for narcotics detection. “Bubba’s specialized training and capabilities are an incredible resource for Douglas County,” Sheriff Daniel Coverley said in 2023. Bubba is a German Shepherd. The K9 was named Bubba at the request of the family who made the donation for their son Ryan “Bubba” Slothower, who passed away in 2007.
For South Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County readers who commute U.S. 50 daily, the Warrior Way signalized intersection referenced in the stop is a known east-shore access point near emergency services.
Editor’s note for El Dorado County readers: The stop occurred on the Nevada side of the South Shore, within the Tahoe Township Justice Court district that borders South Lake Tahoe; commuters and residents on both sides of the state line often share this corridor
What’s next: Zahradnik remains eligible to post bond under the amounts set Thursday. The case returns to Tahoe Township Justice Court on Tuesday.
