WCDA Releases Sentencing Outcome

Attempted Murder Case Involving Attack on 87-year-old Victim Results in 24 Year Prison Term

Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks has announced that Michael Kevin O’Day Jr., age 38 from Sparks has been sentenced to a lengthy prison term after having pled guilty in March to one count of Attempted Murder and one count of Resisting a Public Officer with a Dangerous Weapon. O’Day was sentenced last week in District Court to a maximum term of 20 years in prison for the attempted murder charge and a consecutive term of 4 years for the resisting charge. Based on the sentence received, O’Day must serve a minimum of 9 years and 7 months in prison before parole eligibility begins.  

O’Day was arrested on October 31, 2020, after officers responded to a call for help from the defendant’s 87-year-old female relative who reported being attacked. When Sparks Police Department (SPD) officers arrived, they determined O’Day had tied a bag over the victim’s head and struck her over the head with a metal object, attempted to tie her to an exercise bike and took her car to flee the scene. The victim was transported to the hospital where she was treated for a skull fracture and brain bleed. O’Day was located a short time later by officers from the Reno Police Department (RPD) and apprehended after a brief confrontation that ended when O’Day attempted to drive away at a high rate of speed, almost hitting one of the responding officers in the process. Following his arrest, this office filed formal criminal charges against O’Day.

At sentencing, Deputy District Attorney Carrie Morton argued that such a heinous act deserves the maximum sentence, which would allow the victim peace through her final years knowing the defendant cannot hurt her again.