By Dan Colton
for The Beacon

Oostburg resident Sergio Ochoa, 43, has been found guilty in the 2017 killing of his cousin and his cousin’s friend.

According to court records, a jury found Ochoa guilty on two counts of first-degree reckless homicide. Those charges were amended from first-degree intentional homicide on Oct. 29, which was the seventeenth and final day of trial.

Police said Ochoa shot and killed his cousin, Luis Garcia, and Garcia’s friend, Fernando Lara around 3 a.m. on July 30, 2017. According to authorities, Garcia owed Ochoa around $200 for bills. The men had been drinking at Garcia’s home in Oostburg when Garcia’s son reported hearing an argument, followed by the sound of gunfire.

Police said Ochoa fled the residence but turned himself in to Sheboygan police later that morning. The guilty verdict follows more than three weeks of trial and testimony.

Ochoa is scheduled for a status conference Nov. 11 and sentencing on Jan. 14.