A San Jose man was convicted last month of multiple felonies for randomly shooting vehicles along a busy South San Jose roadway over a four-month period in 2016, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.
Michael James Lewis, 33, was convicted by a jury on 26 counts, including assault with a semiautomatic weapon, shooting an occupied vehicle, being a felon in possession of a firearm and evading an officer, the DA's Office said.
Lewis shot at 11 drivers in moving vehicles along or near Blossom Hill Road in San Jose from May 4 to Aug. 5, 2016, the DA said. All the shootings took place in the early morning hours, just after midnight.
In one of the shootings, a man suffered minor injuries when he was grazed by a bullet on his arm, and in another shooting, a woman was struck in the head by a bullet fragment or shattered glass, the DA said.
"This is a frightening case of gun violence. Mr. Lewis used lethal force time and again to attack many innocent people," prosecutor Marina Mankaryous said in a statement. "We are all fortunate for the great work of the San Jose Police, who found him before he killed someone."
Lewis was arrested in the early morning of Aug. 14, 2016, on Blossom Hill Road after a 7-mile, high-speed chase, the DA said. A search of his home recovered ammunition and a .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol that was later linked to five of the shootings.
The jury, which could not decide on attempted murder charges, convicted Lewis on April 22. He faces 54 years in prison, the DA said.
