Kern County jury finds man guilty of second-degree murder.
A Kern County jury on Wednesday found a man guilty of second-degree murder, as well as an allegation that he used a weapon to commit the murder, in connection with a 2021 shooting at a Fastrip that resulted from an incident of rage. on the highway, according to the district attorney’s office.
John Sanchez was originally charged with first-degree murder, according to a news release from the Kern County District Attorney’s office announcing the conviction; however, the jury found that while he did commit the murder, it was done without premeditation or deliberation.
Sanchez also had a prior “strike” on his record from a 2016 conviction for making criminal threats, the release said, which is why he was also found guilty Tuesday of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in connection with the murder trial.
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Sanchez fired three shots at Jeffrey Correll, hitting him once in the head, on March 27, 2021, outside the convenience store at 630 Airport Drive, according to the release.
An investigation by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office revealed that Sanchez and Correll were involved in a verbal altercation on the highway.
In response to the verbal argument, Sanchez turned his car around, parked near the Fastrip and waited for Correll to arrive, according to the release. When Corell arrived, Sanchez got out of his vehicle, approached Correll, and fired three shots at him.
“Sanchez fled the area, but his escape was short-lived,” according to the release, “as officers from the Bakersfield Police Department caught up with him within 10 minutes and made a traffic stop upon seeing the vehicle and noting it was a match. the description. from the vehicle of the reported shooting suspect.”
When Sanchez’s vehicle was stopped by a Bakersfield Police Department officer, a handgun was thrown out the driver’s side window of the vehicle. An analysis by the Kern Regional Crime Laboratory helped prosecutors prove that the discarded weapon was in fact the murder weapon.
Sanchez is scheduled to be sentenced on May 3, when he faces a sentence of up to 60 years to life for the crime.