Francisco Cruz, a 32-year-old resident of Oceanside, California, tragically lost his life on March 26, 2020, in a fatal shooting incident in Vista. His body was discovered by a security guard in a parking lot on South Santa Fe Avenue shortly after 9:30 p.m. that evening. An autopsy revealed that Cruz had died from multiple gunshot wounds. The investigation into his death quickly led authorities to identify Calvin Lamar Ackles, a 40-year-old parolee, as the prime suspect.
Ackles was arrested in San Diego a few days later and charged with murder and a parole violation.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting were particularly harrowing. Cruz had visited an illegal cannabis dispensary in search of wax, a concentrated form of cannabis. Ackles, who was working as a security guard at the dispensary and living there at the time, confronted Cruz in the parking lot. The situation escalated when Cruz, after being told there was no wax available, returned to his car and began to retrieve a steering wheel lock from the trunk. Surveillance footage captured the encounter, showing that Cruz had barely removed the lock when Ackles opened fire with a .357-caliber handgun. Cruz was shot nine times, with eight of the bullets striking him in the back. Some shots were fired while Cruz was already on the ground, indicating a particularly brutal attack.
Ackles fled the scene but was apprehended a few days later at a motel in San Diego. He was subsequently charged with first-degree murder and an allegation of using a firearm in the commission of the crime. During the trial, Ackles claimed he acted in self-defense, but the jury rejected this argument. In January 2023, Ackles was found guilty of first-degree murder, and in April 2023, he was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison. The case highlighted the dangers associated with illegal cannabis dispensaries and the extreme measures some individuals might take in confrontational situations.
