Darren Roy Mack (born January 31, 1961) became the subject of an international manhunt in June 2006 after being charged with the stabbing death of his 39-year-old estranged wife, Charla Mack, in the garage of their

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

home. Mack was also suspected of, and later charged with, the

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

shooting of Family Court Judge Chuck Weller, who was handling the couple’s acrimonious

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

. Charla Mack was murdered after 9:00 a.m. on June 12, 2006, and Judge Weller was shot around 11:05 a.m. the same day. Judge Weller spent time recovering, and returned to his courtroom on August 16. According to a close friend, Mack was angry over a

divorce settlement A divorce settlement is an arrangement, adjustment, or other understanding reached, as in financial or business proceedings, between two adults who have chosen to divorce. It serves as the final legal agreement between these adults for documenting t ...

issued by Judge Weller. In addition to child support capped by state law at $849 per month, Darren Mack was ordered to pay $10,000 per month for spousal support and household expenses. Darren Mack's gross monthly income was approximately $44,000 (528,000/yr), while his wife had no income. Mack evaded police for 10 days, during which time he was featured on the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

show ''

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Alternative Entertainment division of Fox Corporation. At the time of i ...

'' and the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

’s Most Wanted website.Federal Bureau of Investigation - Las Vegas Field Division - Press Release June 15, 2006
Mack was a hunter and sportsman and records show he owned a .40-caliber

Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (S&W) is an American firearm manufacturer headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Smith & Wesson was founded by Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson as the "Smith & Wesson Revolver Company" in 1856 ...

handgun A handgun is a short- barrelled gun, typically a firearm, that is designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun (i.e. rifle, shotgun or machine gun, etc.), which needs to be held by both hands and also braced ...

and a Bushmaster .223

semi-automatic rifle A semi-automatic rifle is an autoloading rifle that fires a single cartridge with each pull of the trigger, and uses part of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the case and load another cartridge into the chamber. For comparison, a bolt-act ...

. Police said he possessed a federal firearms license and permit to carry a

concealed weapon Concealed carry, or carrying a concealed weapon (CCW), is the practice of carrying a weapon (usually a sidearm such as a handgun), either in proximity to or on one's person or in public places in a manner that hides or conceals the weapon's pre ...

. A search of his apartment found ammunition and bomb materials. Mack surrendered to Mexican authorities after they surrounded him at a resort's pool in

Puerto Vallarta Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican beach resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas in the Mexican state of Jalisco. Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadala ...

on June 22, 2006.Federal Bureau of Investigation - Las Vegas Field Division - Press Release June 23, 2006
The following day he was flown to

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

for booking, and returned to Reno. Authorities located Mack’s rented silver

Ford Explorer The Ford Explorer is a range of SUVs manufactured by Ford Motor Company since the 1991 model year. The first four-door SUV produced by Ford, the Explorer was introduced as a replacement for the two-door Bronco II. Within the current Ford light ...

in Ensenada. On November 5, 2007, Mack pleaded guilty to first degree murder and entered an

Alford plea In United States law, an Alford plea, also called a Kennedy plea in West Virginia, an Alford guilty plea, and the Alford doctrine, is a guilty plea in criminal court, whereby a defendant in a criminal case does not admit to the criminal act and ...

on the charge of attempted murder.s His case is featured in Season 1, Episode 7, titled "Reckless Abandon", of the show '' Deadly Sins,'' and on Season 1, episode 9 (premiered May 9, 2023), titled “The Business of Divorce,” on CNBC’s “Blood and Money.”

Biography

Early life

Darren Mack grew up in northern

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, and graduated from

Reno High School Reno High School (RHS) is a public secondary school in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is a part of the Washoe County School District. The school's teams are known as the Reno Huskies, and the school colors are red and blue. History Reno High wa ...

. He attended the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant ...

on a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

scholarship. Mack had been involved in the family-owned Palace Jewelry and Loan

pawn shop A pawnbroker is an individual or business (pawnshop or pawn shop) that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. The items having been ''pawned'' to the broker are themselves called ''pledges'' or ...

since the age of seven, and at the time of his arrest was a part-owner and

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

merchant. In 2003 his income was estimated at $500,000 annually, and his net worth at $9.4 million. According to his brother Landon, Mack was active politically and founded the Nevada Pawnbroker Association

Marriages

From 1986 to 1991, Mack was married to Debra Ashlock; the couple had a son and daughter. According to ''The Union'', this was Mack’s second marriage. He and Charla were married on May 13, 1995, and she filed for divorce on February 7, 2005. The couple had a 7-year-old daughter. Charla warned a family friend, "He's out to get me and someday he will probably kill me." Ironically, in 1998 a Reno billboard had proclaimed "The Mack Family Presents: Darren Mack. 1998 Father/Husband of the Year. A unanimous decision by his wife, Charla, and his three wonderful children."

Trial

Mack was originally defended by attorneys Scott Freeman of Reno and

David Chesnoff David Zeltner Chesnoff (born May 13, 1955) is an American criminal defense attorney based in Las Vegas. Chesnoff was a law partner of Las Vegas Mayor, Oscar B. Goodman. Chesnoff has represented celebrities as well as crime figures. The crossi ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Chesnoff has built a national reputation by representing celebrities including

Martha Stewart Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing pub ...

and

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

. The Washoe County

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

recused his office from the case because of a longstanding personal relationship with Darren Mack, and because he could be a witness. Chief Deputy DA Robert Daskas and Assistant DA Christopher Lalli of the Clark County

’s office handled the

prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial ...

. At a

preliminary hearing Within some criminal justice, criminal justice systems, a preliminary hearing, preliminary examination, preliminary inquiry, evidentiary hearing or probable cause hearing is a proceeding, after a criminal complaint has been filed by the prosecuto ...

on August 30, 2006, Mack was held over for trial. His

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

attorneys sought a court-ordered mental competency evaluation. On September 11,

prosecutors A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

announced he would not seek the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

. Mack pleaded not guilty to the charges at an

arraignment Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the charges against them. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea. Acceptable pleas vary among jurisd ...

on September 13. As of October 4, 2006, attorney Scott Freeman tried to get Mack's

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ye ...

charge dropped.''

Reno Gazette-Journal The ''Reno Gazette Journal'' is the main daily newspaper for Reno, Nevada. It is owned and operated by the Gannett Company. It came into being when the ''Nevada State Journal'' (founded on November 23, 1870) and the ''Reno Evening Gazette'' (fou ...

'', October 3, 2006
online
His

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of Party (law), parties to a :wikt:dispute, dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence (law), evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate claims or d ...

was set for October 1, 2007. Following his earlier decision in the criminal cases, on October 13 Senior Judge J. Charles Thompson disqualified the entire Washoe County bench from all civil cases against Mack. The trial was moved to Las Vegas, and Clark County District Judge Douglas Herndon was appointed to the case. On November 5, 2007, Mack pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and entered an

to the attempted murder charge, just as the trial was to begin, in exchange for a recommendation by the prosecutor for life in prison with parole available after 20 years. The judge was not bound by the sentencing recommendation. Mack said during the plea, "I do understand right now in my state of mind that shooting at the judiciary is not a proper form of political redress". Mack attempted to withdraw his pleas, saying he was coerced by Chesnoff and Freeman and that his signature was forged. Judge Douglas Herndon denied Mack's motion to withdraw, filed by his new defense attorney William Routsis. During sentencing, Routsis continued to renew his requests for Herndon to grant Mack a new trial. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Herndon sentenced Mack to life in prison for murdering his wife. He also gave Mack the maximum sentence of 40 years, with parole eligibility after 16 years, for the attempted murder of Judge Weller and a deadly weapon enhancement. The sentences run consecutively, rendering Mack ineligible for parole for at least 36 years. Another hearing on his arguments was scheduled for April 2008. On March 18, 2008, a Washoe County jury delivered a $590 million settlement against Mack in the wrongful-death lawsuit of his wife, Charla. $560 million was awarded to the couple's young daughter, Erika, with the remainder to go to his wife's estate.

Appeals

Mack continues to appeal his conviction (on grounds that he pleaded guilty under duress) and is also appealing the $590 million civil judgment. Judge Weller has filed a personal injury lawsuit against Mack, seeking compensatory and punitive damages. Mack's appeal, which was based on the argument that the judge should have allowed him to withdraw his guilty plea, was heard by the Nevada Supreme Court in 2010, and denied. In February 2012 Mack again raised this issue in a petition filed in United States District Court.

References

External links

News articles related to Darren Mack case, by Reno Gazette-Journal

Mack's profile on ''America’s Most Wanted''

Nevada Offender Tracking Information System (NOTIS) - Offender Detail Record

William J Routsis

American Monster "Right Before Your Eyes" , Investigation Discovery
television documentary episode, aired: July 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mack, Darren Roy 1961 births American people convicted of murder Living people Businesspeople from Reno, Nevada American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Nevada Reno High School alumni People convicted of murder by Nevada People who entered an Alford plea American criminal snipers 2006 murders in the United States 20th-century American businesspeople