The Washoe County District Attorney’s Office has announced that a Reno man was sentenced to over 12 years in prison last week as a result of convictions in two separate felony cases.  In line with DA Chris Hicks’ commitment to the aggressive prosecution of habitual criminals who make careers out of victimizing our community, the prosecutor in the case sought and received habitual criminal status based on the defendant’s lengthy criminal history.  The sentence ensures the defendant must serve a minimum of 5 years in prison before he is eligible for parole. 

John Robin Parisi, 48, from Reno pled guilty in December, 2016 to one count of Possession or Uttering of a Forged Instrument and one count of Burglary in a second case and was sentenced on February 9, 2017 to 12 1/2 years in prison, concurrent for both cases.   Parisi’s criminal history contained 8 felony convictions that spanned 30 years and included crimes of ex-felon in possession of a firearm, multiple uttering offenses and possession of a stolen vehicle.

Parisi was arrested in June, 2016 when detectives with the Regional Repeat Offender Program (ROP) began an investigation into a report of an attempt to cash a fraudulent check.  ROP detectives were able to determine that Parisi had entered a local bank and tried to cash an altered stolen check.  When the bank teller became suspicious, Parisi fled but left his identification and the check behind.  Detectives were able to identify Parisi, who was located several months later when he was arrested for the separate burglary case.  When Parisi was interviewed, he confessed to having attempted to cash the check and ROP detectives submitted the cases for prosecution.  

At sentencing, Deputy District Attorney Michael Bolenbaker presented the prior convictions to the court and argued Parisi’s continuous victimization of Washoe County citizens warrants the heightened habitual criminal sentence.  The Honorable Connie Steinheimer agreed and imposed the 12 year sentence. 

The Washoe County District Attorney’s Office works closely with the Northern Nevada Repeat Offender Program on cases involving habitual criminals. Prosecutors and detectives work to bring these offenders to justice and pursue long prison sentences to ensure the community’s safety.