Domestic Battery Trial Outcome

District Attorney Announces Conviction In 2015 Domestic Violence Case

The Washoe County District Attorney’s Office has announced that a Reno man has been found guilty on domestic battery charges following a two day trial that began Tuesday in District Court.  Sentencing is set for later this year and the defendant faces up to a year in jail or up to five years in prison if the conviction is deemed a felony.

The prosecution of this case stemmed from a September, 2015 incident in which the Sparks Police Department (SPD) responded to a call of domestic abuse.  The victim in the case, a 37 year old Sparks woman, had initially called 911 dispatch and then hung up.  SPD Officers arrived at the woman’s Merchant Street apartment and located the victim and her live-in boyfriend, John Thomas Kephart, 34, from Sparks.  Based on the investigation and injuries observed on the victim, Kephart was arrested and this Office field formal criminal charges against him. Kephart pled not guilty and the case proceeded to trial

At trial, Deputy District Attorney Michael Bolenbaker presented the jury with photographs of the victim’s injuries taken at the scene and over the course of several days.  He also presented evidence showing the damage Kephart had done to the couple’s apartment, included a broken down bedroom door.