A Sacramento County jury has convicted a woman of first-degree murder for gunning down a man as he slept in his car nearly eight years ago, a case prosecutors say was fueled by a mistaken belief about her father's death. Julisha Douglas was found guilty Wednesday of murdering Michael Craig, who was shot in the head on January 14, 2018, while sitting in his vehicle in Sacramento County.
The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office announced the conviction, which came with a firearm enhancement attached under case number 18FE003527, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office. The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Colin Stephenson of the office's Homicide Unit. As reported by KCRA, investigators say Douglas may have been seeking revenge because she believed Craig was involved in her father's death.
A Sleeping Victim and an Unseen Witness
According to prosecutor statements made during an October 2020 court hearing and reported at the time by the Davis Vanguard, Craig was asleep in his car when he was shot, and his girlfriend was lying down in the backseat, asleep, at the time — making her an unseen eyewitness to what happened. Officials said Douglas and Craig had a verbal exchange before the shooting. Investigators later found evidence placing Douglas in the area at the time of the shooting, and a civilian identified her as the shooter, per the DA's office.
Officials also said Douglas's vehicle resembled one captured in surveillance footage from the day of the shooting, footage that law enforcement later released publicly. Investigators additionally found social media posts in which Douglas expressed a desire for revenge over her father's death, officials said. That motive, according to the prosecutor's October 2020 statement reported by the Davis Vanguard, was based on a mistaken belief — investigators determined Craig was not actually responsible for the fatal drug overdose that killed Douglas's father.
Years of Pretrial Fighting Over Bail and Bias Claims
The case took years to reach trial, and the pretrial record shows repeated conflict in the courtroom. During an October 2020 bail review hearing, Douglas accused Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Patrick Marlette of being biased and racist after he remanded her into custody without bail, the Davis Vanguard reported. The outburst came as defense counsel sought to reduce her $2 million bail.
Assistant Public Defender Brooks Parfitt argued at the time that holding Douglas without bail violated Article I, Section 12 of the California Constitution, which limits pretrial detention without bail to narrow exceptions, according to the same outlet's coverage. Court filings from that period show Douglas was formally charged under California Penal Code Section 187(a) for murder and Penal Code Section 29800(a)(1) for being a felon in possession of a firearm, confirming she had a prior felony record that barred her from legally possessing a gun before the shooting.
Up to 75 Years to Life at November Sentencing
Douglas now faces a maximum sentence of 75 years to life in prison, according to the DA's office. Under California Penal Code Section 12022.53 — the state's “10-20-Life” law — intentionally discharging a firearm that causes death carries a mandatory consecutive enhancement of 25 years to life, on top of the base murder term, as explained by the Shouse Law Group. Allegations against Douglas also include prior strike convictions for assault with a firearm and discharge of a firearm at an inhabited dwelling.
Whether those prior strikes are proven remains an open question that will be decided at Douglas's sentencing hearing, set for November 20, and that determination will shape whether she receives the maximum term. The case has already stretched nearly eight years from arrest to conviction, and its final chapter awaits a courtroom decision still two and a half months away.
A Killing Set Against Sacramento's Crime Numbers
The shooting happened during a year when Sacramento County's metropolitan law enforcement agencies recorded 28 murders and nonnegligent manslaughters and 2,351 violent crimes overall, according to FBI data from 2018. More recently, California Department of Justice figures compiled by Be Healthy Sacramento show the county's violent crime rate stood at 521.2 per 100,000 residents in 2024, placing it in the second-worst quartile among California counties.
Statewide, the picture has trended in a different direction. A Public Policy Institute of California report found homicides across the state dropped 13.5% in 2024, with overall violent crime falling 5.3% to 481 per 100,000 residents — though still 9.8% above pre-pandemic 2019 levels. Against that backdrop, Douglas's conviction closes out one of Sacramento County's longest-running homicide prosecutions from the tail end of the last decade.
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