SPARKS, Nev. (KOLO) – A Sparks man has been sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping, assault and a host of other charges for which he was convicted.

Moises Portillo-Perez was convicted last week of robbery with use of a deadly weapon, two counts of first-degree kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon, assault with use of a deadly weapon causing substantial bodily injury, discharging a firearm from a vehicle in a prohibited area and failure to stop at the scene of an accident.

He can be released on parole in 15 years.

The court found that in September 2022, Portillo-Perez approached two men in a car in the parking lot of Legends Bay Casino, opened the driver’s door, and held a gun to the driver’s ribs while ordering him and the passenger to move aside. Portillo-Perez told the driver that he was going to rob them and that there was nothing they could do about it.

Portillo-Perez took control of the car, drove through the parking lot, stopped, and demanded that the victims help him rob the casino. The victims refused, and Portillo-Perez told them they could earn $20,000 each if they randomly shot at cars throughout the city. Again, they refused.

Portillo-Perez continued driving, crossing the greenway and continuing to point his gun at the victim in the passenger seat. The court found that at one point Portillo-Perez pointed his gun at another car in front of them and fired two shots through the windshield.

When they reached a roundabout, Portillo-Perez drove over a curb and a signpost, causing him to miss the gun in the car. He then drove into a field and told the two victims to help him find the gun. Instead, they threw the gun into the nearby bushes and managed to escape.

Portillo-Perez stopped near the Sparks Marina a few minutes later and began searching the victim’s car. When he got back in the car, he noticed a 73-year-old man taking a morning walk.

He asked the man for a light, but when the man explained to Portillo-Perez that he did not smoke, he drove into him with his car, causing the 73-year-old to fall onto the hood and be thrown off it and into the middle lane of the road.

As a result, the 73-year-old suffered skull and eye socket fractures. He fled the scene and was found by police officers later that same day.

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