Sentencing Outcome

Violent Firearms Related Case That Injured 14-Year Old Bystander Results in 25-year Prison Sentence

The Washoe County District Attorney’s Office has announced that a Reno man has been sentenced to a lengthy prison term for crimes related to battery with a firearm and illegal possession. Carl Arthure Collins, age 32, from Reno, previously pled guilty to one count of Battery with a Deadly Weapon Resulting in Substantial Bodily Harm, one count of Discharging a Firearm at or Into an Occupied Structure, and one count of Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Collins was sentenced on December 2^nd to a combined term of 25 years in prison with parole eligibility beginning after a minimum of 10 years has been served.

The case against Collins began on January 20, 2020, when the Reno Police Department (RPD) and the Regional Gang Unit responded to a report of a shooting that had just occurred in a local apartment complex. Once on scene, RPD Patrol Officers and members of the Regional Gang Unit determined that after getting into a dispute with another individual driving a car, Collins fired seven shots at the car as it drove away. Collins missed the driver of the car, who was his intended target. Instead, one of the bullets Collins fired hit a 14-year-old girl who was visiting a friend inside a nearby apartment.  The victim was transported to Renown Medical Center where she underwent emergency treatment and survived. After an extensive investigation headed by the Regional Gang Unit, Collins was identified through video surveillance, witness interviews, and forensic evidence as the shooter. After fleeing from Reno, he was ultimately arrested four days later in New Mexico and extradited back to Washoe County where this office filed formal criminal charges against him. Collins had two prior violent felonies and was on parole out of California for battery with serious bodily injury at the time of this shooting.

At sentencing, Deputy District Attorney Jeff Hoppe argued that a lengthy prison sentence was the only way to protect the victim and the people of Washoe County from Collins’ uncontrollable, malicious, and violent impulses. DDA Hoppe further argued that a lengthy prison sentence was appropriate because no sentence will outlive the physical harm and mental suffering experienced by the innocent 14-year-old victim who still has a bullet lodged in her back to this day. Lastly, DDA Hoppe argued that the victim and all residents of Washoe County have the right to be safe and secure in their homes without fear.