Man Convicted in Fatal Shooting

After slightly more than an hour of deliberations, a jury convicted a Sylmar man of first-degree murder in the shooting death last September of a 26-year-old father of three outside a Reseda convenience store.

Because the nine men and three women on the panel also found a special circumstance--shooting from a vehicle with the intent to cause death--Eugenio Rodriguez, 32, faces life in state prison when Superior Court Judge Sandy Kriegler sentences him May 8.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Shellie Samuels said Rodriguez and another man were fighting outside a 7-Eleven store at Saticoy Street and Tampa Avenue about 2 a.m. on Sept. 7. Mario Montano, 26, who had gone to the store to buy milk, attempted to break up the dispute but became entangled in the fight and insults were exchanged, Samuels said.

Rodriguez threatened to shoot Montano, who responded, “Go ahead and shoot me,” the prosecutor said. Later, as Montano drove out the back lot of the store, Rodriguez, who was riding in a van, pulled out a 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistol and fired, striking Montano four times.

Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty in the case.