Curtis Adams, a 21-year-old Navy sailor, tragically lost his life on October 27, 2018, in San Diego, California. Adams was driving with his girlfriend around 2 a.m. when he noticed a seemingly stranded vehicle on the side of the freeway. Demonstrating his Good Samaritan spirit, Adams decided to stop and offer assistance. Unbeknownst to him, the disabled vehicle had sustained flat tires during a shootout earlier that night, following a botched vehicle burglary.
The car was occupied by Edson Acuna, 26, Brandon Acuna, 23, Harvey Liberato, 26, and Susana Galvan, 40. As Adams approached the vehicle, he was fatally shot in the chest by Edson Acuna, who mistakenly believed Adams was someone they had engaged in a shootout with earlier.
The investigation revealed that the Acuna brothers, along with Liberato and Galvan, had been involved in burglarizing a vehicle outside a Mount Hope home. During the burglary, they were confronted by a resident, leading to a shootout that resulted in one of the tires on their car being shot out. Forced to pull over due to the flat tires, the group encountered Adams, who had stopped to help. Prosecutors argued that Edson Acuna shot Adams to conceal their involvement in the earlier crime and to avoid being caught with a car full of stolen property.
Legal proceedings ensued, leading to significant sentences for those involved. Edson Acuna was convicted of first-degree murder, robbery, burglary, various firearm counts, and a special-circumstance allegation of committing the murder during a burglary. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Brandon Acuna pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and received a 13-year prison sentence. Harvey Liberato also pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to nearly a decade in prison. Susana Galvan pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact and was sentenced to three years in county jail.
The case highlighted the tragic consequences of criminal activities and the loss of a young sailor who was simply trying to help others. Curtis Adams' death left a profound impact on his family, friends, and the community, who mourned the loss of a kind-hearted individual taken too soon.
