Conviction Secured on Charges of Battery With a Deadly Weapon

WCDA Announces Outcome of Case where Victim Was Severely Beaten With a Dumbbell

The Washoe County District Attorney’s Office has secured a conviction in a felony domestic battery case after a jury returned a verdict of guilty.  The defendant was accused of having struck his mother’s longtime boyfriend in the head with a dumbbell numerous times when a verbal argument turned violent.  Sentencing is set for June 1, 2017 in Department 3 of Washoe County District Court and the defendant faces a mandatory prison sentence of up to 10 years.    

Rafael Arellano, 33, from Reno, was found guilty earlier this month on one count of Domestic Battery with Use of a Deadly Weapon after a two day jury trial in Washoe County District Court. Arellano was arrested in January after the Reno Police Department (RPD) responded at approximately 4:30 a.m. to a report of a domestic disturbance at a home on Ballentyne Way.  When officers arrived, they located the victim in the kitchen bleeding profusely from several lacerations on his head.  The investigation determined that Arellano had previously taken the victim’s wallet and car keys.  When the victim requested that Arellano return the property, Arellano agreed to give it back, but instead retrieved a dumbbell and beat the victim about the head with it.  Due to the severity of the injuries, the victim was transported by REMSA to the hospital, where doctors stapled and stitched the injuries closed. Arellano was arrested and this office filed formal criminal charges against him.

At trial, Deputy District Attorney Nick Graham argued that even though a dumbbell might not normally be considered a deadly weapon, the manner in which Arellano used it, qualified it as a deadly weapon.