LOS ANGELES — A 27-year-old man has been convicted of murdering off-duty Los Angeles Police Officer Juan Diaz during a 2019 shooting in Lincoln Heights.

Cristian Facundo was found guilty of first-degree murder with a gang special-circumstance allegation, shooting at an occupied vehicle and causing more than $400 in vandalism damage. Jurors also found multiple firearm allegations to be true.

According to prosecutors, Facundo confronted a group that included Diaz on July 27, 2019. He later returned and opened fire as the group was driving away, killing Diaz and wounding another man.

Facundo is expected to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Oct. 27.

Co-defendant Francisco Talamantes III pleaded guilty to several charges in 2021 and received a 25-year prison sentence. A second co-defendant, Ashlynn Smith, also pleaded guilty and faces up to eight years and eight months in state prison.