East Palo Alto Man Guilty Of 2nd Degree Murder In 2015 Shooting

SAN MATEO, CA — A San Mateo County Superior Court jury on Wednesday found a 34-year-old East Palo Alto man guilty of second-degree murder and other charges for a fatal shooting in 2015 and another non-fatal shooting months earlier, prosecutors said.

Freeman Owens III was convicted on the third day of jury deliberations in the trial on charges that he fatally shot 27-year-old Mark Jack on the evening of July 18, 2015, outside of the Light Tree Apartments on East Bayshore Road in East Palo Alto.

Prosecutors said the shooting occurred following an argument Owens and Jack had over a woman. Owens took out a handgun and shot Jack six times, then fled.

During the investigation into the murder, authorities learned that Owens was involved in another shooting at the same apartment complex months earlier, according to the district attorney's office.

On April 25, 2015, he was in a friend's apartment playing cards when an argument occurred and Owens shot a victim twice, once in each leg, prosecutors said.

The victim was taken to a hospital and survived his injuries, and Owens was not identified as the shooter until the murder investigation commenced.

The jury on Wednesday found him guilty of second-degree murder, assault with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon and various enhancements.

Owens is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 20 for sentencing.

—Bay City News Service