A 29-year-old man was convicted Thursday of first-degree murder for fatally shooting a fellow Guadalupe resident in 2010, and then dumping the body in a farm field near Nipomo, according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office.
Alejandro Carrillo, a known member of a Guadalupe gang, was convicted in Superior Court in Santa Maria for the murder of Pedro Gonzalez, 32, said Chief Assistant District Attorney Ann Bramsen.
Gonzalez’s body was found Feb. 14, 2010, in a broccoli field just outside Santa Barbara County lines along Bonita School Road.
According to prosecutors, Carrillo shot and killed Gonzalez with direction from his gang, although Gonzalez was not involved in the gang.
In addition to the murder conviction with a special gang allegation, the jury found Carrillo guilty of having drugs in jail, having a loaded firearm and having a shank in jail – all with gang allegations, Bramsen said.
Carrillo was also found not guilty of an attempted stabbing murder on a different victim, she said.
Carrillo will be sentenced in Santa Maria court Oct. 30.
— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.