The suspect of killing a Navy man on the I-5 was believed to be involved in another shooting just minutes before. NBC 7’s Mari Payton has more.
The suspect identified Sunday in the murder of an active duty Navy sailor in Mountain View on Saturday was also involved another shooting minutes before, police said.
Brandon Acuna, 21, was accused in the shooting death of Curtis Adams, 21, early Saturday morning, police said.
Acuna was also involved in another shooting 10 minutes earlier near the 600 block of Boundary Street in Mount Hope, police said.
He allegedly shot at a man who interrupted his attempt to break into the man's car, according to police.
Police said Adams was driving southbound on Interstate 15 around 2:20 a.m. when he saw what he thought was a stranded driver near the northbound Interstate 5 on-ramp and pulled over to help.
When Adams got out of his car and approached the stranded vehicle, he was shot, Lt. Anthony Dupree said.
He was with his girlfriend at the time who quickly called 911. Adams was taken to UC San Diego Medical Center where he died.
The vehicle Acuna was in sped off and he was taken into custody when California Highway Patrol spotted the car on northbound I-5, near 32nd Street and contacted SDPD.
Acuna was booked into San Diego County Central Jail on charges of first-degree murder and second-degree burglary and held with no bail.
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Acuna has a long criminal history dating back to 2015 when he was 18 years old, according to court records.
Records reveal Acuna has a history of misdemeanor offenses and show he was fined and sentenced to three years probation on Sept. 7, just six weeks before the fatal shooting.
In July, Acuna pleaded guilty to creating a public nuisance. Last year, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of methamphetamine.
And in September, 2015, he admitted he had driven on a suspended license, as part of a plea bargain in which prosecutors dropped a second charge of driving without a license.
Each of those guilty pleas carried a three-year probation term, and fines totaling $1,450.
It was unclear why Acuna shot Adams. The investigations into both incidents are ongoing, police said.
Anyone with information about the incidents was urged to call the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
