The Washoe County District Attorney’s Office has announced a guilty verdict has been secured in a drug trafficking prosecution that stemmed from a 2016 traffic stop that resulted in the seizure of over 40 grams of methamphetamine. Sentencing in the case is set for December 4, 2017, and the defendant faces up to life in prison with eligibility for parole beginning when a minimum of 10 years has been served.  Additionally, the defendant has five prior felony convictions and this office has filed notice of intent to seek habitual criminal status at sentencing.

Brian Anthony Caperonis, 33 from Reno was found guilty on October 18, 2017 of one count of Trafficking of a Schedule I Controlled Substance (Level III, over 28 grams).  Caperonis was arrested on June 24, 2016 following a routine traffic stop.  On that date, a Reno Police Department Patrol Officer stopped a car in the area of East 4^th Street.  Caperonis was a passenger in the vehicle and was acting extremely nervous during the stop.  A wants and warrants check located a warrant for his arrest and Caperonis was taken into custody and transported to the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Detention Facility. When being booked into jail, a search uncovered two bags of methamphetamine, one bag being a bean bag size amount of methamphetamine hidden inside Caperonis’ underwear that ultimately weighed nearly 40 grams.  Caperonis was booked on the drug charge and the prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Jeff Hoppe, filed criminal charges against him for drug trafficking.