A Solano County jury has convicted two men of murder in a 2019 drive-by shooting that killed a Fairfield teenager, and both defendants are now facing mandatory life sentences in prison. Danteon Jeffreys, 28, and Mario Johnson, 29, were found guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder in connection with the June 18, 2019 shooting that killed 18-year-old Cameron Wittman.
Prosecutors said Jeffreys and Johnson drove into territory belonging to a rival gang in Fairfield that night and opened fire on a car carrying six young men, according to SFGate. The jury also found that the two men personally discharged a firearm and that the crime benefited a criminal street gang, additional allegations that helped push the case toward mandatory life sentences, per CBS San Francisco. That outlet reported that Jeffreys and Johnson fired a combined 51 shots at the car carrying Wittman and five others.
Accounts of the shooting's exact details vary slightly between outlets. SFGate reported that Cameron Wittman, 18, was found near the intersection of Kansas and Tyler streets suffering from a gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene. The San Francisco Chronicle, reporting at the time, described Cameron Fritzjames Wittmann, 18, of Fairfield, as having been found fatally shot inside a car that crashed at the same Tyler and Kansas streets intersection just after midnight.
A Night of Linked Shootings Across Fairfield
The Chronicle's original 2019 coverage indicated the fatal shooting was one of several that investigators believed were connected. Three people were shot in Fairfield that night, one fatally, in incidents police believed were linked, the Chronicle reported. Two teenagers, ages 15 and 16, were found with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds in the area of 1000 First Street and were taken to a hospital, according to the same report.
Investigators at the time believed the suspects and victims knew each other and that the shootings were related, the Chronicle noted. CBS San Francisco reported that the string of shootings unfolded between two rival street gangs in Fairfield and left two people dead, with Jeffreys and Johnson allegedly belonging to one of the rival factions.
Case Heads Toward Sentencing
The Solano County District Attorney's Office reported the jury's convictions, according to CBS San Francisco's account of the case. Jeffreys and Johnson are scheduled to return to court on Sept. 24 to set a date for sentencing, when a formal judgment date will also be established. Both men are facing mandatory life sentences in prison as a result of the gang and firearm enhancement findings.
