A California man who took part in a violent late-night crime spree that ended the life of a young family man will spend decades behind bars, closing a case that has haunted Ventura County for nearly a decade.
Aaron Jabezz Holmes, now 30, was sentenced Monday to 54 years to life in prison after pleading no contest to first-degree murder in the 2015 shooting death of 25-year-old Angel Diaz, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
In a press release, prosecutors said Holmes admitted that he “personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing death.” The sentencing follows Holmes’ no-contest plea entered in September 2025, bringing legal closure to a crime that unfolded during what authorities described as a night of escalating and random violence.
Prosecutors said Holmes was 19 years old when he joined four others — two adults and two minors — on the night of April 30, 2015, a night that quickly turned deadly.
Before encountering Diaz, Holmes had been planning to commit a robbery. Instead, he crossed paths with Diaz, who was sitting alone in his truck outside a doughnut shop, eating dinner after finishing a late shift at work.
According to prosecutors, Diaz chose to eat in his vehicle “to avoid waking his family when he arrived home.”
Holmes approached the truck armed with a loaded gun and tapped on the driver’s side window. As Diaz attempted to escape by shifting gears and driving away, Holmes fired a single fatal shot through the window.
As Diaz was dying, his truck veered forward and crashed into the doughnut shop, marking a sudden and devastating end to a routine night.
Authorities said the killing did not occur in isolation. Earlier that same night, Holmes had allegedly targeted other people at random.
Prosecutors said Holmes shot at a driver he identified as an “enemy” and later fired toward a group of teenagers who were practicing a dance routine in a parking lot. No fatalities were reported in those earlier incidents.
Holmes’ sentence of 54 years to life includes the possibility of parole when he is around 44 years old, prosecutors said. The lengthy prison term reflects both the severity of the crime and Holmes’ direct role in the fatal shooting.
The conviction brings a measure of justice to Diaz’s family, who lost a husband and father during what should have been an ordinary moment at the end of a workday.
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