Michael M. Mendoza, 37, was killed on October 6, 2021, at an illegal marijuana grow site in Anza, California, near the Cahuilla Indian Reservation. He had been working at the site for Benjamin Franklin Winkle, 38, and was helping hitch a travel trailer to a Chevrolet Silverado when a tire became stuck. While trying to free the vehicle, Mendoza caused a tire to roll over and kill one of Winkle’s girlfriend’s puppies.

Witnesses say Winkle, who was armed with a Glock .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol, accused Mendoza of killing the puppy and opened fire. Mendoza was struck multiple times, including in the neck, chest, thigh, and hand, and died at the scene. Winkle then forced a neighbor at gunpoint to drive him away, intending to flee to San Diego; the neighbor escaped and alerted authorities.

What details about the grow site or the events that day might help explain how the situation escalated to lethal violence?