Gang Member Sentenced to Life Without Parole for Killing Spring Valley Mother

A suspected gang member convicted of gunning down a woman in Spring Valley while she sat in a parked car with her young child was sentenced this week to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 75 years to life.

Jammerieo Austin, 29, was found guilty by an El Cajon jury of first-degree murder for the slaying of 40-year-old Karmen Anderson, who was shot on the night of April 24, 2021. She died two days later at a hospital.

Anderson, who was shot about 11:30 p.m. on Bancroft Drive, was not the intended victim, according to prosecutors. They said Austin and others actually sought to kill the woman’s husband, who they believed had ties to a rival gang.

Prosecutors said Austin fired more than a dozen rounds from a rifle at the victim’s car.

Anderson was struck three times. Her 4-year-old child, who was sitting in the car’s backseat, was not hit by the gunfire.

Anderson’s husband had parked the car outside a nearby store and was returning to the car when the gunfire erupted, but he was not shot, according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors said the investigation into the killing yielded surveillance footage capturing the shooter and a photograph of Austin taken from the day of the killing, which showed him posing with other gang members, one of whom was holding a rifle believed to be the murder weapon.

City News Service contributed to this article.