Sacramento jurors deliver murder verdict in deadly 2023 Antelope drug deal

Sacramento County jurors convicted a man of first-degree murder and attempted robbery in a deadly shooting during an Antelope drug deal in 2023.

Randall Watanabe, 21, now faces a potential maximum sentence of life in prison in the shooting death of Antonio Chacon, 20, at an Antelope park in May 2023, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement Friday.

Jurors before Sacramento Superior Court Judge James Arguelles last week also found Watanabe guilty of assault with a semi-automatic firearm and discharge of a firearm at an inhabited vehicle.

Jurors also found true allegations that Watanabe personally discharged a firearm causing death and personally used a firearm in the commission of a felony, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors said Watanabe met Chacon at the park for the drug deal and attempted to rob him. Watanabe opened fire when Chacon tried to drive away, shooting the man in the back and causing him to crash his car.

Chacon died at the scene.

Watanabe remains held without bail at Sacramento County Main Jail pending a Dec. 12 sentencing date before Arguelles in Sacramento Superior Court.

Darrell Smith

The Sacramento Bee

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Darrell Smith is a local reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He joined The Bee in 2006 and previously worked at newspapers in Palm Springs, Colorado Springs and Marysville. Smith was born and raised at Beale Air Force Base and lives in Elk Grove.