A driver who opened fire on the occupants in another vehicle after an apparent parking lot dispute outside a 99 Cents Only store in Santa Ana was convicted this week of attempted murder.
An Orange County Superior Court jury on Tuesday, June 4, found Johnell Jackson, 38, guilty of felony counts of attempted murder and discharging a firearm at an occupied vehicle for a Feb. 18, 2024, shooting in a parking lot at 1514 N. Main St.
The 9:45 p.m. shooting, on a Sunday, came immediately after what witnesses initially believed was a playful argument between Jackson, sitting in the driver’s seat of a parked Jeep Cherokee, and a driver who had pulled up and parked by him, according to a written prosecution brief.
A passenger in the other car recalled that Jackson asked in what appeared to be a joking manner if the other driver was intentionally trying to hit his car.
As the other driver began to pull out of his parking spot, a passenger in his car heard what sounded like three or four fireworks, according to the prosecution brief. Another passenger felt an “explosion” and realized he had been struck by a bullet in the left forearm.
Later that night, a man flagged down officers in Buena Park and told them he had been a passenger in the Jeep. He told officers Jackson had gone to the parking lot to sell narcotics, prosecutors wrote.
The man told investigators that he also initially believed it wasn’t a serious argument, until he reported hearing Jackson say, “This (expletive) gonna make my day. I’ve been waiting for this (expletive).” Jackson then pulled out a handgun and fired four or five gunshots out his window toward the other car, the man told police.
Jackson was arrested at a Buena Park hotel. According to the prosecution brief, Jackson claimed that one of the passenger’s in his Jeep told him that someone in the other car had a firearm and he opened fire because he thought he was about to be robbed.
Jackson is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 11.
The owner of the 99 Cents Only discount retailer stores earlier this year announced plans to close all 371 locations. Dollar Tree, another discount retailer, has lined up to buy many of them.
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