Adrian Sandoval, a 21-year-old Hispanic man from Oxnard, was described by his family as an amazing person who went out of his way to care for others. His uncle remembered him as someone whose presence and warmth filled a room, and his family missed his laugh every day. He was the father of a young daughter, who was only seven months old when he died.
On the night of March 12, 2022, Adrian was at an underground party with about 100 other young people inside an abandoned Goodwill store on
Saviers Road. The property owners were unaware of the event. Shortly after 9:30 p.m., a gunman entered the building and began shooting. Adrian was struck by a single gunshot and, despite the efforts of emergency personnel, was pronounced dead at the scene. His death was the first homicide in Oxnard that year. Two other men, 19-year-old Diego Mares and 24-year-old Arkangel Childs, were also shot and hospitalized with significant injuries, but they survived.
The Oxnard Police Department launched an investigation into the chaotic scene. After a months-long search, detectives arrested Willis Nichols, 19, of Oxnard in July 2022. He was charged with murder for Adrian’s death and with attempted murder and assault for the injuries to the other two victims. The investigation also connected Nichols to a separate, non-fatal shooting that occurred on Christmas Eve 2021 in a Target parking lot at The Collection shopping center.
In August 2023, a judge ordered Nichols to stand trial for both shootings. During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Nichols, who was allegedly a member of a graffiti tagging crew, was seeking revenge on a street gang he believed Adrian belonged to. The prosecutor stated that Adrian and the other two men shot at the party were unarmed.
On March 4, 2026, after a three-week trial, a Ventura County jury found Willis Nichols, then 22, guilty of murder, attempted murder, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and shooting at an occupied vehicle. Adrian’s loved ones filled the courtroom for the verdict. “I’m very content with the verdict, but it doesn’t take away the years of pain and suffering that we had to endure and it doesn’t take away the years that we’re going to have to endure in the future,” his cousin said. Nichols faces a life sentence in prison. The case is considered closed as of his conviction in March 2026.
