Man faces life sentence for South Sacramento crime spree that ended in deadly crash

A man was convicted of two counts of murder for a 2023 crime spree that ended in a deadly crash on Florin Road in South Sacramento, prosecutors said on Thursday.

A jury found Jonathan Arredondo-Garcia guilty of first-degree murder with special circumstances of multiple murders and murder during the commission of a carjacking. He was also convicted of two counts of robbery, carjacking, two counts of attempted carjacking, hit-and-run and resisting arrest. 

In January 2023, prosecutors said Arredondo-Garcia walked into a victim's garage with a knife and demanded the victim's keys. The victim handed over the keys, then picked up a plumbing tool and started swinging it at Arredondo-Garcia, who ran away.

Arredondo-Garcia then ran in front of a car and smashed the front end of the car with his body before running off. 

Prosecutors said he soon after walked into another garage and pushed a woman to the ground before stealing her car. 

He took off driving at high speeds, eventually reaching the intersection of Florin and Florin-Perkins roads, where he ran a red light and crashed into another vehicle, killing two people. One of the victims was identified as 49-year-old Stephanie Phan of Sacramento.

Arredondo-Garcia exited the vehicle and tried to carjack another driver, but bystanders were able to subdue him until law enforcement arrived and arrested him.

He faces a maximum life sentence without the possibility of parole. He's scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 11.