3 Nevada inmates dead, including man who killed trooper in 1993

Las Vegas Review-Journal

3 days ago

Michael Sonner (left), Robert Villalobos (center), and Samuel Abraham (right). Three inmates at ... — Michael Sonner (left), Robert Villalobos (center), and Samuel Abraham (right). Three inmates at the Nevada Department of Corrections who died in April, 2025. (Nevada Department of Corrections)

FILE – In this April 15, 2015, file photo, is High Desert State Prison in Indian Springs, Nev. At least 55 Nevada prison inmates have died after contracting COVID-19 in the prison system during the pandemic that began more than a year ago, according to a newspaper report. The Nevada Sentencing Commission twice declined to recommend that Gov. Steve Sisolak depopulate prisons to minimize the spread of coronavirus. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Two inmates at a Southern Nevada state prison and a third at a facility near Carson City have died in the past week, according to authorities.

Michael Sonner, 57, who was convicted and awaiting execution for the 1993 killing of a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper, died Wednesday at High Desert State Prison in Indian Springs, the Nevada Department of Corrections said in a news release. In separate announcements, authorities also announced the deaths of Robert Villalobos, 38, and 71-year-old Samuel Abraham, who both died Saturday.

Villalobos — also an inmate at High Desert — was serving a sentence of at least 25 years for two counts of first-degree murder and other assault charges, a release said. His death was ruled a homicide by multiple sharp force injuries, the Clark County Coroner’s Office told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Thursday.

An NDOC spokesperson on Thursday said in an emailed message Sonner’s and Villalobos’ deaths were not related. Both remain under investigation.

Abraham, meanwhile, died at Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center and was serving a sentence of 70 years to life at Northern Nevada Correctional Center on a conviction of sexual assault and kidnapping.

Sonner first came into NDOC custody in 1994 and was described as a “habitual criminal” by the news release. The Las Vegas Review-Journal has previously reported Sonner was on death row for the 1993 killing of trooper Carlos Borland near Lovelock.

A state webpage dedicated to honoring Highway Patrol troopers who have died in the line of duty states Sonner was pulled over by Borland on Interstate 80 east of Lovelock after he had escaped a North Carolina prison in November 1993. Sonner shot Borland, 25, in the head with a .38 caliber revolver and was apprehended after a brief standoff.

Wednesday’s news release stated Villalobos came into NDOC custody in November from Pinal County, Ariz. Already awaiting trial for other charges, Villalobos was sentenced to life in prison in 2017 for his role in attacking and plotting to kill an Arizona jail detention officer, according to the Associated Press. Court documents indicated Villalobos had ties to the Arizona Mexican Mafia.

Autopsies have been ordered and next-of-kin have been notified for each of the inmates, according to the release. Causes of death for Sonner and Abraham were not provided, and no other information was released.

Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X or @casey-harrison.bsky.social on Bluesky. The Associated Press contributed to this report.