Michael Montana was found guilty of attempted murder, both deliberate and premeditated, on Wednesday. NBC 7’s Candice Nguyen has more from downtown.
The man accused of shooting San Diego-area sports anchor Kyle Kraska has been found guilty of attempted murder.
Kraska was shot four times outside his Scripps Ranch home in February 2015, suffering wounds to his chest, leg, hip and bicep.
A jury found Mike Montana, a painter, guilty of several counts, including attempted murder; a jury said the act was deliberate and premeditated. He is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date.
Once the verdict had been read, Montana turned around to face someone in the gallery and said, "what can you do?"
As the verdict was read, Kraska sat with his head in his lap, sobbing.The sportscaster for KFMB-TV survived the shooting by crawling on the ground for 50 to 60 feet and asking a neighbor to call for help.
Montana was initially hired to paint Kraska's home.
However, there was a dispute over the quality of the work between Kraska and Montana. Kraska said he fronted Montana $800 for supplies before the painter quit without completing the work. Montana said Kraska failed to pay him $2,200.
Montana's defense attorney argued his client was prescribed a “barrage” of medications at the time of the shooting.
Those medications made his client incapable of having criminal intent under the law, he said.
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Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Zipp said Montana was "calm, cool and collected" while firing multiple rounds at Kraska's silver Mercedes before hiding the weapon.
