Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Deputies arrested William Johnson, 47, of Reno on multiple charges stemming from the burglary of a home in the Highland Ranch neighborhood.
Deputies were initially called out to the neighborhood shortly before 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 18, 2021, by a resident who reported a suspicious subject knocking on the doors of multiple homes on Rubens Court.
Upon arrival, deputies noticed a black backpack which was in front of a residence in the 700 block of Renoir Drive causing them to investigate that residence. Deputies witnessed Johnson, wearing a blue backpack, run from a side door of the residence on Renoir Drive towards the back yard. A Sergeant who was also responding to the area witnessed Johnson jump over a fence onto Donatello Drive. That Sergeant made the initial contact with Johnson. Deputies who witnessed Johnson exiting the home placed him into handcuffs.
Deputies discovered three laptops, two Apple iPads, a Texas Instrument Calculator, and several homework documents during a probable cause search of the blue backpack which Johnson was wearing.
It was during this time that the victim returned home to her residence and identified the electronics as items she had purchased over the years, and she identified one of the laptops as her child’s school computer. In total, the electronics recovered by deputies are valued at approximately $2,000.
Johnson is charged with one felony count of residential burglary, first offense; one felony count of grand larceny greater than $1,200 but less than $5,000; one felony count of possession of stolen property greater than $1,200 but less than $5,000; and one gross misdemeanor count of possession of a dangerous drug without a prescription.
Anyone with information regarding recent residential burglaries in the Highland Ranch neighborhood may call the Washoe County non-emergency dispatch line at (775) 785-WCSO, or Secret Witness at (775) 322-4900.
