Gang shooting suspect acquitted

A Yolo County man was found not guilty in Colusa County Superior Court on Tuesday in connection with a reported gangland shooting from earlier this year, authorities reported.

Santiago Rodriguez Ochoa, 19, of Dunnigan, was charged with two counts of assault with a firearm, shooting at a vehicle and brandishing a gun at a person or vehicle as well as four enhancements charging street terrorism, court records state.

It was a case that started in Yolo County, and ended in Colusa County with a Yolo County prosecutor at the helm because of confusion of where the alleged crime took place.

A weeklong trial ended Tuesday with not guilty verdicts to all charges, the Colusa County district attorney's office reported.

Yolo County prosecutor Garrett Hamilton called the verdict "disappointing."

"I think it's a sad day for residents in both Yolo and Colusa counties," Hamilton said.

The case was prosecuted by the Yolo County District Attorney's Office after initial reports indicated the March 4 shooting occurred near Dunnigan.

However, after one of the reported victims made inconsistent statements about the site of the shooting, the case was vacated and re-set to be tried in Colusa County, Hamilton said.

The investigation was further complicated after detectives failed to reconstruct an original crime scene at the time of the incident, authorities added.

Investigators eventually learned that the shooting occurred near the railroad tracks in Arbuckle, Hamilton said.

Ochoa, who prosecutors said is a member of the Sureno criminal street gang, reportedly got into an argument with a longtime gang-rival over a woman, Hamilton said.

Ochoa was reported to be a passenger in a vehicle, and prosecutors said he reportedly fired multiple rounds into another vehicle with rival gang members, according to Hamilton.

Investigators found a handgun that matched the description of the one reportedly used, but were unable to prove that to be the weapon in question, Hamilton said.

Nor did the jury make the connection with Ochoa and the shooting.

Contact Rob Parsons at 934-6800 or rpasrons@tcnpress.com.