Aaron Jabezz Holmes, a 30-year-old man from Oxnard, has been sentenced to 54 years to life following a series of violent crimes that left the community reeling. According to KTLA, Holmes was involved in a crime spree that occurred on the night of April 30, 2015, when he and accomplices, including two minors, embarked on a path of criminal mayhem across Oxnard. The spree included a murder and attempted robbery, culminating in the tragic killing of Angel Diaz, who was shot while sitting in his truck outside a donut shop.
The Ventura County District Attorney's Office asserted that the courts' decision to strike a prior felony strike against Holmes, which was filed over the prosecutors' objections, will allow him to become eligible for parole at approximately age 44 instead of age 60. This eligibility comes under the "youthful offender parole" consideration in California, which extends early parole opportunity for offenders under the age of 26. This decision, as a statement by the Ventura County District Attorney's Office relayed, was due to the perceived immaturity in decision-making at the time of the crimes.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Theresa Pollara, involved in prosecuting the case, expressed disappointment with the court's ruling. "The court’s decision to strike the prior strike over our objection significantly altered the practical effect of this sentence by accelerating parole eligibility," she said, as found in the official press release from the DA's office. During his time in Ventura County Jail, Holmes committed additional felonies, including assaulting deputies and conspiring to smuggle methamphetamine into the facility.
The fateful night's events unfolded as Holmes started by shooting a person he deemed an enemy in the foot and later robbed teenagers practicing a dance routine. In a tragic turn, when a planned robbery of a drug dealer fell through, he instead targeted Diaz. "Mr. Diaz had just finished working a late shift and was eating his dinner inside his truck to avoid waking his family when he arrived home," according to the district attorney's news release. Holmes fired through the truck's window as Diaz attempted to escape, which fatally wounded him and caused the vehicle to crash into the donut shop. Holmes, according to KTLA, bragged later about having "slumped" someone, slang for killing.
In the aftermath of these events, the crimes for which Holmes pled no contest paint a disturbing picture of senseless violence and disdain for law enforcement. As Holmes serves his sentence, his early shot at parole continues to be a point of contention for those seeking justice for the victims and their families. The decisions made in this case are set to reverberate through the Oxnard community and the California justice system for years to come.
