MURRIETA (CNS) - A felon who shot a man during a confrontation in Canyon Lake and later led sheriff's deputies on a pursuit into Riverside pleaded guilty Wednesday to gun assault and other offenses and was immediately sentenced to 12 years, four months in state prison.
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Franklin Joe Ortega of Menifee admitted the assault count, along with felony evading and a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a firearm during a felony under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office. In exchange for his admissions, prosecutors dropped three related charges against Ortega.
During a hearing Wednesday at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, Superior Court Judge John Monterosso certified the terms of the plea deal and imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.
According to sheriff's Sgt. Robert Thomas and court documents, on the night of last Oct. 27, Ortega and Steven Dowell of Canyon Lake were involved in an unspecified dispute in the area of Calcutta and Canyon Lake drives.
During the confrontation, Ortega allegedly pulled a handgun and shot Dowell, Thomas said.
He alleged that Ortega fled the location as witnesses called 911.
Dowell was taken to a regional trauma center for treatment of a non- life-threatening wound from which he has since recovered.
Shortly after 5 a.m. on Oct. 28, sheriff's deputies spotted Ortega's vehicle on the Riverside (91) Freeway, near Magnolia Avenue, in Riverside and signaled him to stop, but he refused, Thomas said.
"A pursuit was initiated," he said. "It concluded when Ortega stopped the vehicle near KPC Parkway, just north of Sampson Avenue, in Corona and fled on foot."
Corona police officers and patrol deputies established a perimeter and deployed a dragnet that culminated in Ortega's arrest five hours later on McKinley Street.
No one was injured during the chase.
According to court records, Ortega has prior convictions for assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment and domestic violence.
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