Sentencing in Burglary and Shooting Case

District Attorney announces Reno man receives 10 years in prison for role in drive-by shooting and burglary

May 20, 2016

Reno, Nevada

The Washoe County District Attorney’s Office announces that a Reno man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his involvement in a July, 2015 drive by shooting and a residential burglary. 

Matthew Lopez (DOB 5/9/98) from Reno, was sentenced Wednesday morning by judge Patrick Flanagan in Washoe County District Court to 6 years in prison for a charge of Burglary and 4 years in prison for a charge of Discharging a Firearm into an Occupied Structure.  The sentences received for the two charges were set to run consecutively.  Lopez pled guilty in December, 2015 and will serve a minimum of 28 months in prison before being eligible for parole.  He was also ordered to pay $10,830 in restitution to the victims in the case. 

Two co-defendants, Christian Trigilio (DOB 7/8/97) and Joe Alfaro (DOB 8/15/94) were also involved.  Trigilio pled guilty in January to Burglary and Discharging a Firearm from a Structure or Vehicle and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with parole eligibility beginning after a minimum of 4 years has been served.  Alfaro pled guilty in September, 2015 to Conspiracy to Discharge a Firearm from a Motor Vehicle and Attempted Burglary.  Sentencing for Alfaro is set for June.  Both co-defendants were ordered to pay an equivalent amount of restitution to the victims.  

Lopez was arrested by the Reno Police Department after an investigation into several home burglaries that occurred throughout the North Valleys.  Detectives determined that Lopez and Trigilio broke into several homes during July of 2015 and stole valuables, including electronics, a car and a firearm.  Detectives also determined that Lopez, Trigilio and Alfaro were involved in a drive-by shooting that occurred around the time of the burglaries. In that case, numerous rounds were fired into a home located on Essex way in Reno. None of the seven people in the home were struck in the shooting, which the defendants claimed was done to settle a debt with one of the occupants.  When interviewed, the defendants admitted to stealing a car from one of the burglarized homes that Alfaro drove to the shooting scene and stealing a firearm that was used by Lopez in the shooting.  According to the investigation, Trigilio and Lopez were both armed and fired numerous rounds into the home and at cars parked in the driveway and along the street.

At the time of the offense, Lopez was 17 years old. However, this office sought and obtained adult certification for this defendant based on the circumstances of the case and his prior criminal history.