Luis Santiago, 21, said it might have helped if he had aimed when he fired at a man last year. But he didn't and killed the wrong man.
``It was my fault,'' said Santiago in a statement to Homicide Detective Ismeal Cruz. ``I was not looking where I was shooting. I was running away, looking in the opposite direction of where I was shooting.'' As a result, he killed Margarito Rivera, 60, at 8th Street and Indiana Avenue, on June 14, 1997.
Yesterday, Common Pleas Judge Steven R. Geroff convicted Santiago of third-degree murder and committed him to prison to await sentencing. He faces a possible jail term of 20 to 40 years.
Assistant District Attorney Thomas F. Margiotti said Santiago, of Lawrence Street near Cambria, opened fire at a man a few minutes after an argument. Two of the bullets hit Rivera while he was standing outside his home, Margiotti said.
Santiago was remorseful. He described Rivera as ``a nice guy. He didn't bother anyone.''
