#TSRTakeAMoment: #Roommates, we are heartbroken to report that a 21-year-old active duty Navy sailor sadly lost his life his weekend after pulling over to help a man who he thought was a stranded motorist. According to NBC San Diego, Curtis Adams was shot on the side of the highway around 2:20 a.m. on Saturday when he approached the motorist to offer assistance. Police say Curtis didn’t know the “stranded motorist” was actually attempting to steal the car.
Curtis’ girlfriend, who was in the car with him at the time, quickly called 911. Curtis was taken to UC San Diego Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased.
The accused shooter has been identified as 21-year-old Brandon Acuna, who police say was also involved in a car burglary that led to a shooting about 10 minutes before the same day. He sped down Interstate 15 before police caught and arrested him.
“Acuna was booked into San Diego County Central Jail on charges of first-degree murder and second-degree burglary and held with no bail,” NBC San Diego reports. “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.”
Curtis’ family told The San Diego Union-Tribune that he was the type of guy to always take the extra step to help other people. “He always wanted to do great things. He always wanted to help people,” Curtis’s cousin Desmond Abrams Jr. told reporters. “You have to be really brave to live like that.”
On Monday, San Diego police said detectives are currently investigating if two other people were involved in the killing. “Police believe two other people may have been involved in Adams’ death, and that all three suspects were also involved in a car burglary that escalated to a shooting about 10 minutes before the killing,” The San Diego Union-Tribune reports. “In that incident, a man was shot at after he encountered people trying to break into his vehicle on Boundary Street in Mount Hope, police said. The man was not injured.”
We will keep you posted as more details on this heartbreaking story are released.
