Two Ventura men plea guilty to 2017 Christmas Day murder

VENTURA, Calif. – Two Ventura men pled guilty on Friday for a fatal stabbing incident that took place on Christmas day in 2017, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

Jose Acevedo and Andy Diaz, both 21, pled guilty to the second-degree murder of Joseph Cruz, also admitting that they used a knife for the crime and that the murder was committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang, said District Attorney Erik Nasarenko.

Acevedo, Diaz, and a third man saw Cruz in a Ventura parking garage and pursued him, Nasarenko said. Surveillance footage shows that the three men assaulted Cruz, who had 14 stab wounds on his body.

Both Acevedo and Diaz were under the age of 18 at the time of the murder, so their cases were initially filed in juvenile court where they both would have been eligible for release once they turned 25, Nasarenko said.

However, the People filed a motion to transfer the cases to adult court, and a Ventura County judge ordered the transfer in July 2019.

The two men will be sentenced to 15 years to life in prison on June 30.