Oxnard Man Nichols Convicted of First‑Degree Murder, Faces 159 Years to Life

A Ventura County jury convicted 22-year-old Willis Nichols of first-degree murder and related felonies after less than eight hours of deliberation, finding he fatally shot Adrian Sandoval inside an abandoned Goodwill building on Saviers Road. The verdict was read in Courtroom 45 on March 4, 2026, and the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office issued Release No. 26-030 on March 6, 2026 confirming the convictions in case number 2022016583.

The jury returned guilty verdicts on seven felony counts: PC 187(a) murder, PC 664/187(a) attempted murder, two counts of PC 245(b) assault with a semiautomatic firearm and three counts of PC 246 shooting at an occupied motor vehicle. The DA listed multiple special allegations found true, including PC 189(a) first-degree murder, PC 12022.53(d) personal and intentional discharge of a firearm, CRC 4.421(a)(8) for planning or sophistication, CRC 4.421(b)(1) for violent conduct, PC 12022.7(a) great bodily injury and PC 12022.5(a)(1) use of a firearm; local trial coverage reported a total of 24 special allegations were found true.

Prosecutor Deputy District Attorney Theresa Pollara told jurors the case centered on two Oxnard shootings. The first, on December 24, 2021, occurred in the Target parking lot at The Collection, where Pollara said surveillance video shows Nichols firing after a man retreated to his car; that victim was shot multiple times, survived and other occupants were narrowly missed. The second incident, on March 12, 2022, was at a party inside the abandoned Goodwill building on Saviers Road: Nichols, who the DA said arrived in a dark gray Mustang, approached a group and opened fire at close range. Pollara told jurors the March 12 shooting killed Adrian Sandoval, who was shot in the head and died at the scene, and wounded two others, one in the abdomen and one in the chest, who survived.

At trial Pollara advanced a motive of retaliation, saying Nichols, allegedly a member of a graffiti tagging crew called OTS, acted in revenge after a member of the rival group E-Block posted a mugshot of an OTS member bleeding and crying. Those gang and crew affiliations were presented by the prosecutor as context for the shootings.

Family members filled the courtroom when the verdict was read. Sandoval’s cousin Emily Lujan said, "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."

Nichols was arrested July 5, 2022 and was held at Ventura County Main Jail on $2,000,000 bail, earlier reporting shows. Defense attorney Charles Cassy was present in the courtroom photo captioned by the DA release: "Willis Nichols stands with his attorney in Courtroom 45 of the Ventura County Superior Court as the verdict is read on March 4, 2026." Trial coverage described the overall trial as roughly three weeks in length.

Local reporting described Nichols as facing up to 159 years to life in prison, while Ventura County prosecutors characterized the result as exposing Nichols to a life sentence; the DA release excerpt did not list a specific numeric maximum. The court will proceed to sentencing after post-verdict procedures are completed.