PROSECUTOR: Deputy District Attorney Megan Eixenberger, Gangs & Hate Crimes Unit
On December 15, 2023, the Honorable Laurel White sentenced Christopher Berger to 133 years and 4 months to life in prison. On August 2, 2023, Berger was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder and three counts of discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle. The jury also found true allegations that Berger discharged a firearm causing great bodily injury or death.
On August 24, 2020, the four victims were outside in front of a residence in North Sacramento. Berger drove up to the residence in his vehicle and shot at the victims 11 times with a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun. Alex Cardona was shot in the head, killing him. The other three men were shot multiple times, but they survived. Berger then reported his vehicle as stolen. Three days later, the vehicle was stopped with a different individual driving it. That individual stated he got the car from another person, who turned out to be Berger’s friend. The driver also stated that he threw a shell casing out of the car into a dumpster. The shell casing was located and matched the shell casings at the murder scene. Eight months after the murder, an unregistered firearm was located during a vehicle stop and matched the shell casings from the murder scene. Berger and the victims were rival gang members.
