FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – The man considered the “Westside Shooter” is found guilty by a Fresno jury.
42 year-old Jorge Javier Gracia of Kerman (above) was convicted on Friday, October 5, 2018 for 19 felonies for the string of shootings in November and December of last year.
In a news conference in December of 2017, Fresno County Sheriff Margret Mims said there had been a total of 10 reports of vehicles hit by gunfire; 8 in Fresno County and 2 in Madera County.
The Sheriff’s Office said the suspect truck was similar to the one below.
Sheriff Mims says Gracia was taken in on January 8, 2018 when an off-duty California Department of Corrections officer was reported being threatened with a firearm. Police arrived at the scene in Kerman and established that the truck the suspect was driving was similar to the one Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputies were looking for. A gun was found inside, forensic tests were done, and a match was made with rounds recovered from the vehicles targeted.
Sheriff Mims says it was the forensic evidence that helped them to connect the dots.
“We have a total of 5 of the incidents we were able to match up the ballistics with the gun, said Sheriff Mims. “I believe its a lot for the DA to work with.”
In March, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office charged Gracia with five-felony counts of Assault with a Semi-automatic Firearm as well as allegations that he personally used a handgun in the commission of the offenses.
Gracia had two prior “strike” offenses, a rape conviction in 1997, and assault with intent to commit rape in 1999.
His sentencing will take place in November.
He now faces life in prison.
Click to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
