SANTA ANA (CNS) - A 21-year-old man pleaded guilty today and was sentenced to seven years in prison for a violent carjacking in Santa Ana.
Angel Macias pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder and as part of the plea deal single felony counts each of carjacking and assault with a firearm were dismissed.
Co-defendant Michelle Diane Sanchez, 26, pleaded guilty Oct. 14 to a felony count of carjacking. As part of her plea deal felony counts of attempted murder and assault with a firearm were dismissed. She was sentenced to three years in prison.
A 54-year-old Costa Mesa man was shot twice in the upper body in the April 22, 2019, carjacking, said Santa Ana Police Department Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.
The victim met Sanchez the evening of the shooting and the two reconnected later that night when she texted him saying she needed a ride to her car, Bertagna said.
When he went to pick up Sanchez at Bristol Street and Central Avenue, she said the two men with her were friends and also needed a ride, Bertagna said.
The three got into the victim's Ford F-150 pickup truck, and when they got to the 500 block of East Central Avenue, one of the men demanded at gunpoint that the driver pull over, Bertagna said.
Sanchez then shot the victim, who managed to get out of the pickup truck before the suspects fled in the vehicle, Bertagna said.
Detectives found the pickup truck a short distance away from the shooting, Bertagna said.
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