The Washoe County District Attorney's Office says a Reno man was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of fraud against an elderly victim and drug trafficking.
44-year-old Douglas Wayne Goins was sentenced last week in District Court as a habitual criminal. He must serve eight years before he's eligible for parole.Â
Authorities say Goins pleaded guilty in two separate cases last August involving one count of Obtaining and Using the Personal Identifying Information of an Older or Vulnerable Person and one count of Trafficking in a Controlled Substance, level 1. Goins was adjudicated as a habitual criminal on both the fraudÂ
charge as well as the trafficking charge and received a combined sentence of 20 years.
In February, 2017, Detectives began an investigation involving identity theft and fraudulent credit card applications and transactions. Three suspects were identified with the aid of surveillance footage from a local sporting goods store. The DA's Office says Goins along with two co-defendants, 33-year-old Joey Ray Griffin, 33 and 20-year-old Jayleen Noreen Carter were arrested after detectives determined they had used the identity of a 62-year-old Reno man toÂ
apply for credit, which they used to purchase hunting and fishing equipment they later pawned. They say on March 11, 2017, while the investigation was ongoing, Goins was stopped for traffic violations and arrested on the fraud charges and drug trafficking when he was found to be in possession of over 10 grams of Methamphetamine.
Griffin pleaded guilty in August to one count of Obtaining and Using the Personal Identifying Information of an Older or Vulnerable Person. Carter pleadedÂ
guilty to one count of Burglary in June, 2017 and was released by the court pending sentencing. Authorities say a warrant was issued for her arrest based on her failure to comply with release conditions and she was arrested last Friday.Â
(The Washoe County District Attorney's Office contributed to this report.)
