After 1½ days of deliberations, a jury on April 23 convicted a parolee of first-degree murder and attempted murder in two Linda Vista and La Jolla shootings before a marshal shot him in Point Loma.
Sentencing for Joseph Anthony Hill, 45, is set for July 10 before San Diego Superior Court Judge Fred Link. Hill remains in the George Bailey Detention Facility without bail.
Hill was convicted of killing Sean O’Toole, 47, at his Linda Vista home on Dec. 29, 2013, and of premeditated attempted murder of Travis Bondurant, who was shot in the stomach three hours later at a La Jolla hotel.
The jury also convicted Hill of possession of a firearm by a felon. He faces 25 years to life for the murder plus 25 years for the use of a firearm in a slaying as well as another life term for the premeditated attempted murder.
Hill escaped, but the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force got a tip on Dec. 30 that he was in Point Loma. The marshals and San Diego police moved in during a joint operation in the 1600 block of Catalina Boulevard.
Hill left a residence on Catalina and started to drive away but not before he pinned an officer to a parked car. Officers fired on Hill, who was wounded in several places. He drove a short distance before crashing. He was hospitalized and later arrested. The pinned officer had minor injuries.
— Neal Putnam