Reno Man Bites Victim in the Face

Convicted of Assault with a Deadly Weapon

A jury has convicted Jaelan Barnes (dob 11/30/90) of Assault with a Deadly Weapon, False Imprisonment, and Domestic Battery, after he held his former partner hostage with a kitchen knife and then bit him in the face.

Officers with Reno Police first responded to an apartment on Peckham Lane on July 9^th of last year, after a neighbor called 9-1-1. As soon as police arrived, they noticed the victim, a 23-year-old man, had an injury to his left cheek. The left cheek bone had clear teeth marks that had broken the victim’s skin, causing him to bleed. On the inside of those teeth marks was a large golf ball-sized dark purple bruise.

While speaking with the officer, the victim shared that he and the defendant had recently broken up, and that the defendant had come by his apartment to talk. The pair got into an argument, leading Barnes to grab a kitchen carving knife and make stabbing motions towards the victim. When the victim tried to leave, Barnes told him if he did, he would throw the knife in his back. Barnes kept the victim in the apartment for about an hour, at one point stabbing both the victim’s couch and iPad, before the victim was able to escape out the door. Barnes followed him outside, tackled him, and the pair grappled over the knife. At which point, Barnes bit the man in the face.

A neighbor heard the fight and the victim calling for help, so she ran outside, which prompted the defendant to run away. Police searched for Barnes but were unable to find him, leading to a warrant for his arrest. Barnes was located and arrested in January of this year.

Deputy District Attorney Widad Sairafe highlighted the level of control the defendant attempted to maintain and preserve over the victim by keeping him hostage in his own home with a knife, going so far as to chase him even after the victim managed to escape his residence.

Sentencing is set for July 10^th with the Honorable Judge Egan Walker presiding. Barnes faces up to 6 years in prison for the charge of Assault with a Deadly Weapon, one year in the Washoe County jail for False Imprisonment, and 180 days in the Washoe County jail for Domestic Battery.