Road rage suspect Mark Char faces life in prison with the possibility of parole after a state jury Friday found him guilty of attempted murder and assault.

Char’s attorney, Keith Shigetomi, said he and his client were shocked by the verdict, and he vowed to file a motion for a new trial. He said the prosecution failed to find Char guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The 60-year-old Ewa Beach man was accused of attempted murder for stabbing the driver of another car, Jesther Marlang, on Aug. 1, 2016, in a violent episode that played out in front of rush-hour traffic on the H-1 freeway in Waipahu. The subsequent investigation tied up traffic for five hours.

Char also was accused of assaulting Marlang’s passenger, Deion Anunciacion, and for assaulting motorist Jene Winn, who tried to break up what was happening on the freeway’s center median.

The jury found Char guilty of second-degree attempted murder, second-degree assault and third-degree assault for reckless bodily injury. The second-degree attempted murder conviction carries a maximum term of life in prison with parole, while second-degree assault calls for up to five years in prison. Third-degree assault is for a maximum of one year in jail.

“Come sentencing on June 18 of this year, Mr. Char will be looking at going to prison for the rest of his life,” said Kyle Dowd, deputy prosecuting attorney. “Obviously, the fight about when he eventually gets out will be in front of the parole board.”

The incident that left three men cut, bitten and bleeding occurred two years ago during afternoon rush-hour traffic in the westbound lanes of the H-1 freeway near the Kunia offramp.

The trial saw 14 witnesses describe the events of the day. Many of them testified that Char was the aggressor. He used a specialized knife, held like brass knuckles, and cans of pepper spray and bit two of Marlang’s fingers so violently that blood got in his face.

Marlang, a registered nurse, was left with stab wounds to his torso and right kidney and a cut to his left arm, authorities said. Anunciacion suffered a cut to his left arm, and Winn suffered cuts to two fingers on his right hand.

Char, the only one to testify on his behalf, said he was defending himself following some aggressive freeway driving in which the cars, his included, exchanged “brake-checks,” or the slamming of brakes in front of another vehicle.

On Wednesday Char testified, among other things, that he stopped with the intention of identifying drunken drivers for police. He also said that rather than ramming Marlang’s car once it stopped, his car merely rolled backward after he failed to activate his parking brake.

The jury deliberated for several hours Thursday and returned Friday morning with the verdict.

“The prosecution never believed it was a case of self-defense from Day One,” Dowd said. “We thought it was attempted murder in the second degree, and now 12 members of this community feel the same way.”

Dowd said the trial ended with a just verdict reflecting the seriousness of Char’s unlawful behavior. He added that the case is not just about three victims, but about the “heroes” who stopped to come to the aid of the three victims.

Among the heroes, he said, was Kaohu Detwiler, an off-duty military police officer.

“Without him stopping as a good Samaritan, along with a couple of others to tend to these three men, in particular Mr. Marlang, I don’t think Mr. Marlang would be alive today,” he said.

Speaking to reporters afterward, Shigetomi said his client was just as surprised by the verdict as he was.

“He doesn’t believe it,” he said.

After the verdict was read in court, Shigetomi asked for a poll of the jurors to confirm the unanimous verdict. In turn, each of the 12 jurors voiced their agreement with the verdict read by the clerk.

“Self-defense is not a defense that we have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. (The prosecution has) to prove that it did not apply beyond a reasonable doubt. There’s clearly doubt. Clearly, the other side took a lot of aggressive action that was confirmed by independent witnesses,” the attorney said.

Shigetomi said he would file a motion for a new trial within 10 days.

As he did during the trial, Char sat in a wheelchair in court Friday. According to his attorney, the wheelchair is necessary because Char suffered blood poisoning from cuts and scrapes he suffered during the freeway encounter.

Char is also awaiting trial in three additional cases all scheduled for July: first-degree negligent injury, first-degree terroristic threatening and weapons charges, and second-degree assault and criminal property damage.