Reno man guilty of Domestic Battery

WCDA secures conviction

A jury has returned a guilty verdict in a felony domestic battery case last week. Reno resident Michael Colony, age 49 (dob 5/9/74) was charged with Domestic Battery with Substantial Bodily Harm, Victim is an Older Person.

In January of last year, Reno Police responded to an apartment on Mira Loma Dr. after receiving a report of a domestic disturbance between Colony and the victim. When officers arrived, they found a 60-year-old woman with a bleeding head wound, strangulation marks, and other injuries. They also observed a broken cell phone and lamp. The victim told police that she and Colony had got into an argument and when she went to leave, he threw her phone against the wall, blocked her from leaving, grabbed her by the neck and slammed her to the ground where he began choking her. According to the woman, he hit her head on the lamp when he threw her down and after Colony realized she was bleeding, let her get up.

During trial, Deputy District Attorney Lorena Valencia presented the victim’s testimony of the encounter, as well as the 911 calls, and medical testimony regarding the victim’s injuries, which included a head wound requiring staples.

The Honorable Judge Steinheimer presided over the trial. Sentencing is set for August 10, 2023.  Colony faces a possible 6 years in prison for the Domestic Battery conviction and an additional 6 years due to the crime being committed against an elderly victim.