Defense attorney seeks reporter’s records for opioid case

RENO — The attorney for a defendant in an opioid distribution case is seeking the records of the Reno Gazette-Journal and once of its reporters.

The newspaper reports that an attorney for Braden Riley is seeking materials related to interviews with a former Washoe County jail inmate, whose name has been withheld.

RGJ attorney Scott Glogovac on Friday filed a motion to deny the subpoena, arguing that reporter’s privilege should shield them from inquiry. State law protects reporters from being coerced into giving up their materials or sources.

Riley was arrested in 2016 along with eight others as part of a federal investigation into an opioid distribution ring in Reno. Riley’s attorney, Theresa Ristenpart, served the newspaper and the reporter subpoenas on Jan. 20 and Jan. 18.