29-year sentence in violent residential burglary

Defendant engaged in standoff before arrest

A Sparks man has been sentenced to almost 30 years in prison, with eligibility for parole after 9 years. Gustavo Mariscal-Garcia, age 38, had previously pled guilty to Residential Burglary While in Possession of a Deadly Weapon, Battery with Use of a Deadly Weapon, and Resisting a Public Officer with Use of a Deadly Weapon.

The case against Mariscal-Garcia began last October, when deputies with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office were called to a local hospital following a report of an attack involving a machete. There, deputies met with the two victims, a mother and daughter. The 30-year-old daughter told law enforcement that Mariscal-Garcia was her ex-boyfriend and that earlier that evening he had broken into her home through a window, confronted both women, threatened them with a machete, and had gotten into a physical altercation with the 51-year-old mother.

During the investigation, it was discovered that Mariscal-Garcia grabbed the mother, who was trying to run out of the house to get help, by the hair, cut one of her legs and also cut her hand which caused a 6” laceration that required sutures. The daughter was eventually able to negotiate with the defendant to take her mother to the hospital if they promised not to involve police. After receiving care, the group returned to the home, where the victims were able to convince Mariscal-Garcia to leave. The two women immediately returned to the hospital and deputies were called.

The regional SWAT team responded to the defendant’s home, where a standoff ensued. Mariscal-Garcia initially hid on the roof, where he yelled at police. He then jumped down and began to run away, before battering two officers with a piece of metal fencing. Law enforcement officers eventually were able to subdue the defendant with a taser. 

During sentencing, Deputy District Attorney Lorena Valencia touched on the violent nature of the crimes against multiple victims, that a deadly weapon was used in the commission of each crime, and that a serious injury resulted from the defendant’s actions. 

The Honorable Judge Connie Steinheimer presided and imposed the sentence.