Gunman Convicted in Vista Bar Slaying

An Escondido man was convicted Thursday of second-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon and assault with a firearm in the October killing of a security guard at a Vista bar.

Jurors deliberated for a day after three days of testimony in the trial of 35-year-old Joaquin Carrizoza, who shot and killed Mario L. Doran after Carrizoza had an argument with his former girlfriend, Antonia Villegas, and fired two shots near her.

“I’m happy with the verdict. It’s a murder conviction of a man who was acting very wildly,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Kate Elkin, who had tried to convict Carrizoza of first-degree murder.

“The weakness in the case was that it happened very fast, there were just a handful of witnesses who came forward, and the defendant was really acting like a wild man, and it was hard to give him that quality of deliberate action under those circumstances,” Elkin said.

The prosecution accused Carrizoza of a cold-blooded “execution-style” killing in the Oct. 6 shooting. In a quarrel with the 35-year-old Villegas, Carrizoza fired two shots near her, missing both times.

Hearing the gunshots, Doran, a 30-year-old security guard employed by the bar, emerged from the back and drew his gun, firing several shots while Carrizoza was standing at the doorway, hitting him at least twice and emptying his gun.

Carrizoza shot back and, after wounding Doran, walked up to him and fired a bullet that passed through his head, the prosecution said.

The defense argued that Carrizoza returned fire in self-defense, and that he was wounded and lying on the ground when he shot Doran.

Carrizoza was charged with attempted murder of Villegas, but was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon, a lesser offense. He was also found guilty of assault with a firearm for waving his 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun at one of the customers during the shootout.

Elkin said she will push for the maximum penalty for the crimes of 25 years to life imprisonment.

“There are three separate victims in the community that were victimized by this person. One is now dead, and the other two have been severely traumatized, and each victim deserves to see him get a penalty for the crime committed against them,” Elkin said.