Elko man gets 20 to life in killing of Spring Creek teen

ELKO, Nev. (AP) — A 20-year-old Elko County man convicted of sexually assaulting and killing a Spring Creek teenager two years ago has been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years.

A jury deliberated for two hours Monday before settling on Bryce Dickey’s sentence on a first-degree murder charge in the death of 16-year-old Gabrielle “Britney” Ujlaky.

Her parents had provided emotional testimony about how her death has turned their world upside down, the Elko Daily Free Press reported.

Police originally treated Ujlaky’s disappearance as a runaway case after Dickey told investigators he saw her get into a green pickup truck with a tall man wearing a cowboy hat outside Spring Creek High School on March 8, 2020.

Her mother, Alisha Ujlaky, told Dickey Monday that she had waited for two years to confront him.

“I believed your ridiculous lies and your story about the green truck, and you let me come try and comfort you, knowing that you had raped and murdered my daughter,” she said.

Jim Ujlaky said it’s impossible for him to see fathers and daughters together without crying.

“I can’t watch a movie with a father and daughter without doing this,” he said through tears.

Judge Mason Simons will sentence Dickey later on the sexual assault charge, to be added to the murder sentence.