RENO — On Tuesday, Gordon Wayne Simpson, a 51 year-old target of the Northern Nevada Repeat Offender Program, was sentenced to 10 to 25 years in the Nevada State Prison by Judge Steven Elliot. Simpson, who had previously pleaded guilty to four counts of commercial burglary stemming from an April 2011 arrest, was also adjudicated as a habitual criminal. Including the convictions related to this most recent case, Simpson has now amassed 15 felony convictions since 1981.

The arrest in April 2011 was the result of a several-month-long investigation. During the investigation detectives learned that Simpson was operating a financial forgery lab, where he would print fictitious store receipts and then take them to local retail stores, select items to steal (often times expensive electronic equipment) and leave the store without paying for the goods. If he was stopped on his way out of the store, Simpson would show the fraudulent receipt and then exit the store without paying for the merchandise.

It is estimated that during his crime spree Simpson stole tens of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from local vendors. As a result of his latest arrest and conviction, Simpson will not be eligible for parole for 10 years.