Guilty Verdict in Attempted Murder Case

District Attorney Announces Attempted Murder and Felony Battery Conviction

July 5, 2016
Reno, Nevada

The Washoe County District Attorney’s Office announced today that a Sparks man has been found guilty of attempted murder and felony battery charges after a three day jury trial that began last Tuesday. The victim in the case was shot once in the chest after being confronted by the defendant, who will be sentenced later this year.  Based on the conviction, the defendant faces up to 40 years in prison.   

Cesar Eduardo Romero-Manzo 21 (DOB 1/26/95) from Sparks was convicted of one count of Attempted Murder with a Deadly Weapon and one count of Battery with a Deadly Weapon Causing Substantial Bodily.  The jury deliberated for one hour before returning the guilty verdicts.

The case against Romero-Manzo the morning of February 10, 2015, when the Sparks Police Department began an investigation into a shooting that had taken place near Stanford and J Streets in Sparks.  Detectives initially met with the victim, a 20 year old Sun Valley man, who had reportedly driven himself to the hospital after being shot in the chest. The victim told detectives that he had been shot after he was confronted by an ex-boyfriend of his current girlfriend. Detectives identified the shooter as Romero-Manzo, who claimed he had been attacked by two unknown assailants when initially questioned about the incident.  Based on the investigation, detectives were able to determine that Romero-Manzo had been harassing his ex-girlfriend and the victim for some time.  They further determined that on the day of the shooting, Romero-Manzo had crashed his vehicle into the victim’s vehicle as the two were driving along Stanford Street.  After the crash, the victim grabbed a baseball bat for protection and got out of his car to confront Romero-Manzo.  Romero-Manzo had also gotten out of his car and subsequently shot the victim once in the chest with a .22 revolver.  After being shot, the victim was able to disarm Romero-Manzo and strike him in the head with the revolver prior to driving himself to a nearby hospital.  At the hospital, it was determined that the bullet had hit the victim in the center of his chest, but had not penetrated deeper than the chest muscle. Following their investigation, Sparks detectives arrested Romero-Manzo and the case was submitted to this Office for prosecution.       

During trial, Deputy District Attorney Michael Bolenbaker presented evidence of a bandana the defendant used to wrap the .22 revolver in as well as a 911 call from a neighbor who witnessed the shooting. 

Sentencing in the case is set for August 23, 2016 in Department 15 of Washoe County District Court.