DEL MAR — A 44-year-old man was convicted April 4 on a handful of weapons charges stemming from an incident in downtown Del Mar last December.

The panel of eight women and four men found Eric Jon Johnson guilty of three counts of exhibiting a palm-sized gun, two counts of carrying a firearm in his vehicle and one count of carrying a concealed firearm.

Further, an allegation that Johnson had a prior conviction for carrying a concealed weapon was attached to the six counts.

When he is sentenced May 2, Johnson faces more than four years in prison for his Dec. 20 tirade at Sbicca restaurant in Del Mar, Deputy District Attorney George Loyd said outside the courtroom.

According to authorities, Johnson pulled a 19th-century Derringer firearm on two staff members in the restaurant and then fled down the alley. When police caught up with Johnson, who was passed out a few blocks south of the restaurant, he informed the deputies he had several firearms in his vehicle.

Three loaded weapons were found in his car, two handguns near the front passenger seat and a rifle in the trunk, deputies said.

Defense attorney William Stone told jurors in his closing argument that his client had made some poor “lifestyle” choices in the days leading up to his arrest that contributed to his actions at the restaurant.

In addition, Stone said the prosecution failed to present key evidence to each count. For example, he said it’s unclear whether the Derringer was capable of being fired, since the San Diego Sheriff’s Department crime lab couldn’t test the weapon because the bullets were so obscure. Further, Stone said because of his client’s paranoid state of mind Johnson believed he was acting in self-defense when he pointed the palm-sized gun at three restaurant workers as he fled down the alley.

However, Loyd told the panel that self-defense was not applicable in this case since his judgment to exhibit the firearm was skewed because he was under the influence and/or “out of his mind.” This may explain why he exhibited and harbored the weapons, but it’s not a legal defense, the lawyer said.