Teen Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison

Pled Guilty to Battery with a Deadly Weapon

A 19-year-old has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after he pled guilty to Battery with Use of a Deadly Weapon, Resulting in Substantial Bodily Harm and Fight or Challenge to Fight Involving Use of a Deadly Weapon.

Alexander Velazquez was sentenced in adult court in connection to both counts which stemmed from two incidents that were 6 months apart.

On January 30, 2022, the defendant and 2 carloads of documented gang members attacked four young adults in the GSR parking lot.  The victims were young men who had come to the area to go snowboarding; they were outside by the ice rink when Velazquez and his friends accosted the group, asking if the tourists were members of a rival gang.  The defendant used a knife and stabbed one man seven times in the neck, arm, and chest which punctured the victim’s lung and sent him to ICU.

Six months later on June 2, Sparks Police responded to reports of shots fired near Greenbrae Drive in Sparks. According to witnesses, Velazquez and a juvenile co-defendant confronted another victim who had been walking in the area. At the time, the local middle school had just released for the afternoon, and numerous children were in the area.  The victim had previously made disparaging remarks about the gang that’s connected to the defendant, and when Velazquez and the juvenile co-defendant saw the victim, they turned their car around and fired multiple times. The gunshots hit the victim four times, as well as a nearby tree, house, and car. During the investigation, it was discovered that the victim also had a gun and shot toward the defendant. 

While pending sentencing, Velazquez battered another prisoner at the jail. That fight was captured on video and shown during sentencing, with Chief Deputy District Attorney Shelly Scott arguing for the maximum sentence. The Honorable Judge Connie Steinheimer adopted the state’s recommendation of 15 years with eligibility for parole after 6 years.