WASHOE COUNTY NEWS RELEASE
On Friday, Feb. 14, a jury found Arturo Calderon Bolanos Jr., 27, of Carson City, guilty of one count of First Degree Murder with a Deadly Weapon, three counts of Attempted Murder with a Deadly Weapon and two counts of Battery with a Deadly Weapon. Following a two-week trial, the jury deliberated for five hours and returned with its verdict Friday at 10:30 p.m.
On Oct. 2, 2011, after a night of partying at the Freight House District, Bolanos removed an AR15-style assault rifle with a laser sight from the trunk of his car in the parking garage just south of the Aces’ Ballpark. He then fired 12 rounds at an SUV that was attempting to leave the garage that was occupied by four men who had just been in a gang-motivated fight with his younger brother and cousin outside the Freight House District. The SUV crashed into a cement barrier in the garage during the shooting.
“The level of firepower discharged by the defendant in that parking garage was frightening,” said Washoe County Chief Deputy District Attorney Chris Hicks.
Three of the men in the SUV were shot. Macario Ortiz died from a gunshot wound to the back, Enrique Montanez suffered a gunshot wound to his wrist and Anthony Lopez was shot through the leg.
Bolanos then ran from the parking garage east on Second Street where he discarded the assault rifle into a family member’s vehicle. Unfamiliar to the area, he was immediately detained as he ran in front of the Reno Police Department. However, he was released later that day as the investigation continued.
Three days later, eyewitnesses to the shooting came forward and an arrest warrant was issued. Bolanos was found 10 days after the shooting in Shasta County, Calif., after a routine traffic stop. He gave the Shasta officer a false name and had changed his appearance. At trial, the defendant asserted an identity defense claiming he was not the shooter. However, the prosecution produced evidence that clearly proved Bolanos was the attacker in the garage that night.
The presiding judge was the Honorable Lidia Stiglich, and counsel for the defendant was David Houston and Ken Lyon. Sentencing is set for April 21. The murder conviction carries a potential sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, and the attempted murder charges each carry up to 40 years in prison.
