Deliberating for seven hours, a Solano County Superior Court jury on Wednesday found Gage H. Pontarelli, 29, of Vacaville, guilty of first-degree murder for the 2018 fatal shooting of his on-again, off-again girlfriend in a detached garage in Vacaville.

Afterward, Judge William J. Pendergast, ending a three-week trial, ordered Pontarelli to return for sentencing at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 6 in Department 11 in the Justice Center in Fairfield.

At sentencing, Pontarelli, who remains in the Stanton Correctional Facility without bail, faces 25 years to life for the death of Samantha Jack, 22, of Elk Grove. He may face more time because the jury also found that he used a firearm to commit the crime, an enhancement.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Julie Underwood, who prosecuted the case over the many years, did not return a Reporter request for comment at press time.

Defense attorney Jessica Agnich of Redwood City could not be reached for comment at press time.

The jury’s relatively swift decision came one day after the attorneys, in their closing arguments, reiterated their cases to the 12-member panel, with Underwood emphasizing the killing in the early hours of July 22 “was a murder” while Agnich, in her final remarks to jurors, called it a “tragic accident.”

Jurors apparently agreed with Underwood’s forceful rebuttal statements to them that, if they again listened closely to the audio portion of a video recording made by a Pontarelli neighbor in the 400 block of Kentucky Street, she said, they would come to believe four things: There was an argument and Pontarelli hit her; he “held a gun on her”; heard a semi-automatic handgun “being racked,” meaning a bullet had entered the firing chamber with a ratcheting sound; and that “he shot and killed her.”

Seated at the defense table, Pontarelli showed no outward emotion as Underwood described him as a somewhat cold personality.

She noted he did not “shed a single tear” when he viewed the autopsy photos or other graphic evidence of the young woman he “allegedly loved.”

Underwood insisted the case “was about murder,” not the lesser included offenses of voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, a reference to statements Pendergast made during his initial jury instructions at the outset of the Tuesday morning session.

She also questioned the credibility of defense witnesses, then, gesturing toward the jurors, said, “You are the ultimate finder of facts,” and that the defense witnesses were “clearly biased.”

While so-called expert witnesses have opinions, the jurors, Underwood asserted, could determine on their own what was actually said on the roughly 20-minute audio recording.

Despite one defense witness saying Pontarelli and Jack may have struggled over a firearm, Underwood said there was no struggle over a gun.

When Agnich objected to Underwood’s statement, Pendergast reminded jurors that attorney statements are not facts and not evidence.

In her closing argument, Underwood called Jack’s death “an unjustified killing.”

She reminded jurors what a prosecution witness, an audio analyst, said he heard on the audio recording, that Jack asked, “Are you really going to pull the trigger on me?” and Pontarelli telling her, “That’s why I’m a real gangster,” followed by the gunshot.

She said there was no doubt the two “had a dysfunctional relationship,” but that was not a reason to kill her.

At press time, Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams, in a text message to The Reporter, wrote, “Our office is thankful for Deputy District Attorney Julie Underwood’s unwavering commitment to seek justice in this case.

“And although nothing our office says or does can bring back Samantha Jack, we are grateful that the jury reached a fair and just verdict and that the defendant will be held accountable for this brutal murder.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to all her friends, family, and loved ones.”