District Attorney's Office Announces Verdict in Battery Causing Substantial Bodily Harm Trial

Reno man found guilty of battery causing substantial bodily harm after three day trial.

March 24, 2016
Reno, Nevada

District Attorney Chris Hicks announced that prosecutors obtained a guilty verdict against a Reno man charged with battery causing substantial bodily harm.  The guilty verdict came after a three day trial in District Court where the jury heard evidence about a March 2015 incident in which the victim, an 18 year old Reno man, suffered a broken jaw.

Jesse Joseph Giles, 22, (DOB 11/01/93) from Reno was found guilty Wednesday afternoon of one count of Battery Causing Substantial Bodily Harm, a felony, in Washoe County District Court.  Trial began Monday morning and concluded with the jury deliberating 3 hours before Guiles was convicted of the charge. 

The case against Giles began on March 8, 2015 when the Reno Police Department was called to Saint Mary’s Hospital to meet with a victim of a battery.  The 18 year old male victim reported he had been hit multiple times in the face by a male who was later identified as Giles.  Officers were able to determine that the victim had been with a crowd of people located inside the University of Nevada-Reno’s West Stadium Parking Complex.  The crowd included car enthusiasts and at one point in the meeting the victim responded to a comment made by Giles about his car being a “real man’s car”  Following this brief exchange, several witnesses said Giles got out of his car and began punching the victim in the face until others intervened.  The victim had a visibly broken jaw and was taken by his companions to Saint Mary’s Hospital. The victim and other witnesses to the incident were able to provide the responding officers with Facebook information about Giles, who was located a short time later outside his Reno residence.  Giles was arrested for the battery and the District Attorney’s Office filed charges against him for the offense on March 11, 2015.

During trial, Giles testified claiming self-defense.  However, he admitted he threw the first punch and that at no time did the victim or any of the victim’s friends strike him in any way. The victim testified that his hands were in still in his pockets when Giles struck him in the face.  His jaw ended up broken in two places and required an emergency surgery to repair.