BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A Kern County jury has convicted a man of a murder charge in the shooting death of a man outside a Fastrip in Oildale.
The jury on Tuesday acquitted John Gil Sanchez of first-degree murder and instead found him guilty of second-degree murder, which carries a penalty of 15 years to life in prison. Court records show the jury also found him guilty of possession of a firearm by a felon.
Sanchez already had a strike on his record, according to the Kern County District Attorney’s Office.
He was convicted of shooting Jeffrey Joseph Leroy Correll, 22, in the head outside the Fastrip at the intersection of Airport Drive and Decatur Street in March of last year, according to the DA. Before the shooting Sanchez and Correll were in a verbal altercation believed to be from road rage.
The DA says that after the verbal back-and-forth between the two, Sanchez parked near the Fastrip and waited for Correll to arrive. When Correll arrived, Sanchez got out of his car and shot at Correll three times, one shot striking Correll in the back of the head and killing him. Sanchez left the area.
Bakersfield Police Department located Sanchez about 10 minutes later and pulled him over noting his vehicle matched the suspect vehicle’s description from the shooting, according to the DA. During the stop, Sanchez threw a handgun from the vehicle. The Kern Regional Crime Laboratory determined the handgun thrown from Sanchez’s vehicle during the traffic stop was the same gun that killed Correll.
“The value in having a world-class crime lab in Kern County cannot be underestimated. The Kern Regional Crime Laboratory has proven vital to solving and bringing justice for the most violent crimes,” said District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer.
The DA says over the period of the trial, Sanchez attempted to contact and dissuade a then 15-year-old girl who was in his vehicle at the time of the murder and could identify Sanchez as the shooter.
Sanchez, 28, is scheduled for sentencing May 3, he faces up to 60 years to life.
