A marijuana dispensary security guard who shot a would-be customer nine times — including eight times in his back — in Vista three years ago was sentenced Tuesday to 50 years to life in prison.
A Vista Superior Court jury found Calvin Lamar Ackles, 43, guilty in January of first-degree murder and an allegation that he’d used a gun in the death of Francisco Cruz, 31.
The jury rejected the argument that Ackles was acting in self-defense in the confrontation, which happened outside an illegal dispensary on South Santa Fe Avenue north of Smilax Road around 9:30 p.m. March 26, 2020, days after COVID shut downs hit the state.
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