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Man Convicted In East Palo Alto Murder Receives 95-Year Prison Sentence

EAST PALO ALTO (CBS SF) -- A 34-year-old man has been sentenced to more than 95 years in prison for a fatal shooting in East Palo Alto in 2015 as well as a non-fatal shooting months earlier, San Mateo County prosecutors said Monday.

Freeman Owens III was sentenced Friday after being convicted last November of second-degree murder and other charges for the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Mark Jack on the evening of July 18, 2015, and a separate shooting in the same area on April 25, 2015, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.

Owens shot Jack outside of the Light Tree Apartments on East Bayshore Road in East Palo Alto following an argument over a woman, prosecutors said.

During the investigation into the fatal shooting, authorities learned Owens had been involved in the April shooting, which also happened at the same apartment complex. Owens shot someone once in each leg after an argument over a card game, prosecutors said. The victim survived his injuries.

On the third day of deliberations in November, a San Mateo County Superior Court jury convicted Owens of second-degree murder, assault with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon and various enhancements.

At Friday's sentencing hearing, Jack's family members spoke about their loss and asked San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Garratt for a life sentence for Owens, prosecutors said.

Garratt ended up sentencing Owens to 95 years and eight months to life in prison, with 1,371 days credit for time served, according to the district attorney's office.

 

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