Escondido

A 22-year-old Escondido man has been found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon in a drive-by shooting and in the attempted shooting of an Escondido city councilman who pursued him.

Councilman Kris Murphy testified in San Diego Superior Court that he followed the gunman after seeing the Nov. 25, 1989, drive-by shooting, which was believed to be gang-related.

Martin Ramiro Ochoa was convicted of wounding 17-year-old Salvador Santoyo, who also testified in the trial that began several weeks ago.

The jury also found Ochoa guilty of conspiring to commit an assault with a firearm.

Judge Laura Hammes set sentencing for June 15.

Ochoa has been in County Jail since his arrest in lieu of $250,000 bail, but Hammes ordered him held without bail.

Santoyo, who was shot in the back and in his leg, had been talking with his brother while leaning against a car fender. He never saw his assailant.

“The victims were at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Deputy Dist. Atty. James Fitzpatrick said.

Santoyo is not a gang member, but apparently rival gang members were nearby when the shooting erupted.