Pablo Jovel said that what happened to him on May 13 was “the worst thing that could happen” in his life.
Jovel and two friends were walking from the parking lot to Global Foods, in the 10300 block of Festival Lane in the Manassas area, when another man shot him.
On Wednesday, Prince William Circuit Court Judge Lon E. Farris found Carlos Ernesto Morales Zuniga, 29, of no fixed address, guilty of malicious wounding and use of a firearm in commission of a felony for the shooting.
Jovel testified that Morales Zuniga was selling tools out of the back of his vehicle and asked him to buy some.
“I told him ‘No, we’re not buying stolen merchandise’,” Jovel said.
Jovel’s friends testified that Morales Zuniga then seemed to get angry and followed them as they walked towards the store.
Morales Zuniga pulled out a gun and fired once. The bullet struck Jovel in the left abdomen. He survived.
Morales Zuniga fled the scene on foot and was arrested about two weeks later when one of the witnesses spotted him at a Wal-Mart store and alerted police.
Jovel and another witness later picked Morales Zuniga out of a photo lineup provided by the police.
During the trial, defense attorney Myron Teluk argued that Jovel and his two friends who witnessed the shooting were inconsistent in their testimonies.
The men’s descriptions of what the shooter was wearing varied slightly, but all three identified Morales Zuniga as the shooter.
Jovel said he had no doubt that Morales Zuniga was the man who shot him. “I could never forget someone who harms me,” he said.
Morales Zuniga faces up to 23 years in prison when he is sentenced on Feb. 19.
Staff writer Amanda Stewart can be reached at 703-878-8014.
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