The Washoe County District Attorney’s Office has secured the maximum sentencings in two cases involving Driving Under the Influence, both prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Brett Dieffenbach.
Javier Sambrano (dob 9/21/65) was sentenced to 40 years in prison, with parole eligibility after 16 years, after pleading guilty to one count of Hit and Run Causing Death and one count of Hit and Run Causing Substantial Bodily Harm. Sambrano was arrested after troopers with Nevada State Police Highway Patrol responded to a hit and run crash near I-580 and S. Virginia Street in April of 2023. While investigating, troopers learned that Sambrano had rear-ended another car while speeding, causing the victim’s van to swerve and drive head-on into the freeway’s concrete guardrail. The driver of the van was killed, and the three passengers sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Several witnesses observed the crash and called 911. After Sambrano fled, he drove into a nearby residential area and parked. The defendant was then captured by video surveillance running through the streets away from his vehicle. One resident was able to identify the defendant’s truck after seeing it on the evening news, as it was parked in front of his home. Law enforcement was able to run a check on the vehicle, which identified Sambrano as the owner, however Sambrano claimed the truck had been stolen. He was subsequently arrested several months later, following additional investigation that showed he was in the area at the time and location of the crash and the parked truck, thanks to cell phone records and GPS coordinates.
Jose Zepeda-Carmona (dob 8/19/02) has been sentenced to 20 years in prison with parole eligibility after 8 years, after pleading guilty to DUI Resulting in Death. Nevada State Police Highway Patrol troopers were called to US-395A near William Brent Road in June of 2023 for a single vehicle crash. While driving to the scene, troopers came across Zepeda-Carmona, who was walking in the road and was covered in blood. During the investigation, troopers learned that Zepeda-Carmona had been driving with a 19-year-old passenger, when he drove off the edge of the road while speeding and struck a tree. The passenger was thrown more than 20 feet from the car and was killed. A toxicology report of the defendant showed he had both alcohol and marijuana in his system at the time of the crash. Further investigation by the Nevada State Police Highway Patrol established that Zepeda-Carmona was driving at least 121 mph at the time of the crash.
Both defendants in these cases were sentenced by the Honorable Lynne Jones.
Javier Sambrano Jose Zepeda-Carmona
A recording of the press release for media can be heard below.
