Man Convicted Of 1st-Degree Murder In 2019 Birthday Party Shooting In Rancho Cordova

RANCHO CORDOVA (CBS13) — A jury convicted a Sacramento man of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Kenneth Neal Evans at a birthday party in Rancho Cordova back in 2019, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Faron Mello faces 50 years to life behind bars and is scheduled to be sentenced on February 18.

On September 7, 2019, Evans attended a birthday party at JB's Lounge and Grill located in the Lincoln Village strip mall in Rancho Cordova. According to the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office, a fight broke out in the parking lot following threats made over social media leading up to the celebration.

Evans was shot at three times and hit in the chest and hand. Prosecutors said Evans, on the way to the hospital, identified Mello as the shooter as he was dying.\He was pronounced dead early the next morning.

Mello was located and arrested in Medford, Oregon the next day. The gun used in the shooting has never been recovered.