Drug Trafficking Conviction Update

Defendant Found Guilty Last Year Given 25 Year Prison Term for Drug Trafficking and ID Theft

The Washoe County District Attorney’s Office has announced the sentencing results of a drug trafficking prosecution against a defendant found guilty after a District Court trial last October. The trafficking case stemmed from a 2016 traffic stop that resulted in the seizure of over 40 grams of methamphetamine and the defendant was ultimately sentenced to 25 years in prison, with parole eligibility beginning after 10 years has been served.  Additionally, while the defendant was out on bail for the trafficking case, he was arrested for using the identification of another when he was stopped by law enforcement in October, 2016.  He was sentenced to a concurrent 4 year prison term for this charge last week.

Brian Anthony Caperonis, 33, from Reno was sentenced to 25 years in prison on one count of Trafficking of a Schedule I Controlled Substance (Level III, over 28 grams) in Washoe County District Court.  Caperonis was also sentenced to a concurrent 4 year term for one count of Attempted Obtaining and Using the Personal Identification Information of Another to Avoid Prosecution.  The cases against Caperonis were prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Jeff Hoppe and represent this defendant’s sixth and seventh felony convictions.

Facts of the Case:

Caperonis was arrested on June 24, 2016, following a routine traffic stop by the Reno Police Department (RPD) in the area of East 4^th Street.  Caperonis was a passenger in the vehicle and was acting extremely nervous during the stop.  A wants and warrants check located a failure to pay a traffic ticket warrant for his arrest and Caperonis was taken into custody and transported to the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Detention Facility. When being booked into jail, a search uncovered two bags of methamphetamine, one bag being a bean bag size amount of methamphetamine hidden inside Caperonis’ underwear that ultimately weighed nearly 40 grams.  Caperonis was booked on the drug charge and subsequently posted bail.  While out on bail, RPD conducted a traffic stop, during which Caperonis provided a false name and date of birth.