A Superior Court Jury has found Crestline resident Steven Michael Baumgartner, 55, guilty of killing his neighbor on June 30, 2014. (File Photo)
By G. T. Houts
San Bernardino, CA – Former Riverside County Deputy Sheriff Steven Michael Baumgartner, 55, from Crestline has been found guilty of murdering 38-year-old Michael Paul Clark in Crestline on June 30, 2014.
Steven Michael Baumgartner. (Contributed Photo)
The jury found Baumgartner guilty of second degree murder and could be facing 40 years to life in prison. He was also found guilty of using a firearm, discharging a firearm and discharging a firearm causing great bodily injury.
SENTENCING
Judge Harold T. Wilson, Jr. — who presided over the lengthy trial that ended Tuesday afternoon — will pronounce sentence on Thursday, October 20.
The sentencing hearing will begin at 8:30 a.m. in Department S-15 in the San Bernardino Justice Center.
THE INCIDENT
Baumgartner reportedly shot Clark — his next door neighbor in the 23000 block of Wildwood Lane in Crestline — in the face with a .357 Magnum after the two men got in an argument outside Clark’s home.
Numerous 9-1-1 callers told San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Dispatchers about the incident that occurred about 5:14 p.m. on June 30.
First responders transported Clark to St. Bernardine Medical Center in San Bernardino where he was pronounced dead at 6:09 p.m.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Baumgartner was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Nelson Ng and represented by Conflict Panel Attorney Julian Ducre.
He is being held without bail at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.
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