A Sacramento County jury convicted Jonathan Arredondo-Garcia of murder Wednesday for a violent 30-minute rampage through South Sacramento that began with garage break-ins and carjackings and ended with a stolen car slamming through a red light at nearly 100 mph, killing two women. Jurors found him guilty on all counts, including two counts of murder, carjacking, robbery, hit-and-run and resisting arrest.
According to the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office, Arredondo-Garcia carried out his entire spree on January 19, 2023, in a compressed window of roughly 30 minutes, escalating rapidly from garage break-ins to a fatal collision. Prosecutors said he was driving a stolen vehicle at approximately 98 mph when he ran the red light at Florin Road and Florin-Perkins Road, triggering the multi-vehicle crash that killed 49-year-old Stephanie Phan, a Sacramento resident, and a passenger in another car.
As reported by CBS News, the spree included Arredondo-Garcia entering a victim's garage armed with a knife, demanding the keys to her car, and stealing it after she handed them over. He later entered another garage, pushed a different woman to the ground, and continued his run through the neighborhood, according to the outlet's reporting on the case.
A Crash That Ended in a Second Carjacking Attempt
The station's report also describes an earlier confrontation in which a victim swung a plumbing tool at Arredondo-Garcia, prompting him to flee before continuing his spree elsewhere. He also smashed the front end of a car with his own body during the string of incidents, per the same account, before ultimately crashing into another vehicle at the Florin intersection.
Immediately after the 98 mph impact, Arredondo-Garcia climbed out of the destroyed stolen vehicle and tried to carjack yet another motorist, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office. Nearby bystanders physically restrained him until officers arrived, an intervention that halted the spree before it could claim more victims.
Verdict Carries Special Circumstances and a Weapon Enhancement
The jury found Arredondo-Garcia guilty of first-degree murder with special circumstances of multiple murders, along with murder during the commission of a carjacking. He was also convicted of two counts of attempted carjacking and two counts of robbery. Jurors additionally found true a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a knife during the spree, according to ABC10.
The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office says the jury returned its guilty verdicts on all counts on August 19, 2026, in Case #23FE000945, a case prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Ryan Roebuck of the DA's Homicide Unit. Prosecutors said Arredondo-Garcia was convicted of two counts of murder in connection with the crash.
Life Sentence Expected Under State Law
Under California Penal Code § 190.2, a first-degree murder conviction with true findings on special circumstances — including multiple murders or murder committed during a carjacking — restricts sentencing strictly to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, according to Eisner Gorin LLP. Arredondo-Garcia faces a maximum sentence of life without parole as a result.
His formal sentencing is scheduled for September 11, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. in Department 13A of Sacramento County Superior Court before Judge James Arguelles, per the DA's office. Arredondo-Garcia, who was 22 at the time of the crime spree, was arraigned in a hospital bed on January 23, 2023, while being treated for minor injuries from the crash, according to CBS News' earlier coverage of his arrest.
A Corridor Already Under Scrutiny
The Florin Road corridor where the fatal crash occurred has drawn broader safety concerns in recent years. According to 2023 California Office of Traffic Safety data cited by Hoodline, Sacramento ranked first among major California cities for overall composite crash risk, driven heavily by speed- and alcohol-related incidents. The Sacramento Transportation Authority has since approved $23.8 million in Measure A funding to overhaul portions of the Florin Road corridor with expanded infrastructure and traffic safety upgrades, Hoodline has reported.
That funding push, aimed at one of South Sacramento's most dangerous stretches of roadway, underscores how a single reckless drive through a red light at nearly 100 mph could turn deadly. For the families of Stephanie Phan and the other victim killed in the crash, the guilty verdicts close out a case that began with a knife-wielding break-in and ended in a courtroom more than three years later.
