Man convicted of multiple felonies from 2019 Port Hueneme shooting that paralyzed a child and injured her pregnant mother
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. – The Ventura County District Attorney's Office announced that Jaylin Edwards was convicted of all charged felonies including attempted murder and shooting at an inhabited dwelling for a July 2019 shooting that injured two people, including partially paralyzing a seven-year-old.
A Ventura County jury convicted Edwards on all of the following felony charges as well as found true all of the following special allegations on Nov. 15, 2024:
Criminal Charges:
- PC 664/187(a)-Attempted Murder
- PC 245(b)- Assault with a Semiautomatic Firearm
- PC 245(b) Assault with a Semiautomatic Firearm
- PC 246-Shooting at an Inhabited Dwelling
Special Allegations:
- PC 12022.53(c)/(e)-Principal's Intentional Discharge of a Firearm - Gang Case
- PC 12022.53(d)-Personal and Intentional Discharge of a Firearm Causing Great Bodily Injury
- PC 12022.5(a)(1)-Use of a Firearm
- PC 12022.7(b)- Great Bodily Injury - Brain Injury/Paralysis
- PC 12022.7(a)-Great Bodily Injury in Commission of a Felony
- CRC 4.421(a)(1)-Crime Involved Great Violence
- CRC 4.421(a)(2)-Defendant was Armed with and Used a Weapon
- CRC 4.421(b)(1)-Defendant has Engaged in Violent Conduct
- CRC 4.421(a)(3)-Victim was Vulnerable
On July 2, 2019, Edwards and a 17-year-old shot at a residence in Port Hueneme where they believed a man they were looking for lived stated a press release Monday from the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Inside of the home was a family of five sitting in their living room when at least eight of the 12 fired gunshots hit their home shared the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Three of those rounds hit family members including a seven-year-old girl who was hit in the head and the girl's pregnant mother who was hit in the foot and thigh detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
The seven-year-old was taken to the hospital and eventually airlifted to Los Angeles Children's Hospital where she spent the next three weeks in a coma explained the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
The pregnant mother required surgery for her gunshot wounds and was released the following day shared the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, three months after being airlifted, the girl was able to return home but was left paralyzed on the left side of her body and has permanent cognitive impairment.
Edwards and the 17-year-old fled the scene after shooting stated the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, an investigation by the Port Hueneme Police Department and the Ventura County Sheriff's Office led to the arrest of the 17-year-old and the recovery of one of the two firearms used in July of 2019.
Evidence collected eventually led investigators to Edwards who was arrested in December of 2021, but the second weapon used in the shooting was never recovered the shared the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
"This verdict marks a significant step toward closure for the victims, their loved ones, and the law enforcement team that spent months investigating this case," said Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Horlick who prosecuted the case. "It is my hope that the jury's swift verdict provides a sense of justice to the victims as they continue their lifelong healing journey."
Edwards is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 10, 2025, in courtroom 46 of the Ventura County Superior Court where he faces a maximum of 73 years and four months to life in state prison explained the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
The co-offender was charged in juvenile court for their role in the shooting and the case is still pending in juvenile court added the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.