7 Years To Justice: Man Convicted In Peninsula Drive-By Murder

MENLO PARK, CA — A 41-year-old transient has been convicted of murdering a man in a drive-by shooting in Menlo Park in 2011, San Mateo County prosecutors said Monday.

Jermaine Jones pulled up alongside Carl Purvis Jr.'s car on Aug. 18, 2011, then opened fire with a handgun. Purvis was struck in the abdomen but he managed to drive away before bleeding to death.

Jones was ultimately located with the murder weapon in his car in Stockton. He was arrested in October 2014 after a lengthy investigation that led to a grand jury indictment.

After a 23-day jury trial and four days of deliberations, he was found guilty of first-degree murder and discharging a firearm at a vehicle with a special allegation that he discharged a firearm from a motor vehicle intending to kill a person.

Jones is a "second striker" and faces life without parole when he returns to court for sentencing at 9 a.m. Friday.

"It was a long, long journey -- seven years -- to get to justice," District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Monday afternoon.

"But I know the victim's father, who watched the whole trial, was joyous that the jury did the right thing and held the killer of his son accountable," Wagstaffe said.

Defense attorney Eric Hove was not immediately available to comment on his client's behalf.

— By Bay City News Service / Image via Shutterstock