GREENFIELD — A Monterey County Jury has found Paulo Cesar Alcaraz Ortiz, 27, of Greenfield, guilty of first-degree murder for intentionally running over Guadalupe Garcia.
Judge Andrew Liu will sentence Ortiz, who is facing more than 25 years to life in prison, on Sept. 4.
On Nov. 16, 2021, Ortiz was in a car stolen from a friend’s parent. A police officer tried to contact him, but he refused to obey the officer’s orders and began a high-speed flight from arrest.
On several occasions he attempted to strike pedestrians with his car and missed. At one point, he rammed a police car to avoid capture.
Finally, he targeted the victim, Garcia, with an intent to kill him. He missed in his first try but followed the fleeing victim through a field and drove over him, killing him.
Police vehicles, including Soledad Police Chief Damon Wasson, then rammed Ortiz and dragged him out of his car. Ortiz told police that he believed killing Garcia would either cause the police to stop chasing him or cause them to kill him.
Garcia was a well-known and beloved member of his community.
This case was investigated by the Greenfield and Soledad police departments.
