Sentencing set for man convicted of killing CHP officer

Sentencing is scheduled Oct. 1 for a Winchester man convicted of second-degree murder in the death of a Highway Patrol officer.

Michael Joseph Callahan, 29, was identified as the suspect in a traffic collision that killed Patrol Sgt. Steven Licon on April 6, 2019, according to a District Attorney’s Office news release. Licon had pulled over a car for excessive speed in the southbound lanes of the 15 Freeway near Nichols Road in Lake Elsinore. The vehicle pulled several feet off the freeway onto the right shoulder.

Licon was standing next to his CHP motorcycle when a Toyota Corolla driven by Callahan hit him. Callahan had been traveling at an estimated 65 mph on the shoulder before striking Licon. The officer was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Callahan was convicted by a jury on Aug. 27. He is scheduled to appear before judge Timothy Freer at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta for his sentencing.