Luis Villachana was found guilty of first-degree murder committed in the course...

Luis Villachana was found guilty of first-degree murder committed in the course of an armed residential burglary.

On July 17, 2026, in a case prosecuted by Deputy DA Brandon Stallings, a Kern County Jury found Villachana guilty of First Degree Murder with use of a Firearm, Residential Burglary while Armed with a Firearm, Attempted Murder, three counts of Assault with a Semi-Automatic Firearm, Shooting into an Occupied Vehicle, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and Felon in Possession of Ammunition.

On August 29, 2024, deputies responded to a residence in Oildale on a report of a woman being shot by an unknown assailant. During an extensive investigation, detectives discovered that Villachana had a motorcycle that was stolen from his residence earlier that morning. Instead of contacting law enforcement, Villachana recruited numerous individuals to track down the stolen motorcycle. Villachana discovered that his motorcycle was inside the garage of an Oildale residence. He then went inside the house and assaulted a roommate in an attempt to get more information about who stole his motorcycle. Another roommate was contacted, who in turn contacted his parents.

The roommate’s father arrived at the house first and was involved in trying to keep the peace until Villachana pulled out a firearm and started threatening him. Villachana shot at the father’s feet which led to the father assaulting the Defendant in order to protect him and his wife, who had just arrived in her vehicle, along with several other family members. Villachana shot once more at the father as he attempted to run away, and then fired into the arriving vehicle, hitting the mother (Ruth Ann Cummings), who ultimately succumbed to her wounds.

DA Zimmer commented, “Laws are established to maintain order and promote justice, ensuring that disputes are resolved through the legal system rather than through personal acts of violence. Villachana's actions were avoidable and entirely unjustified.”

The case is pending a bench trial on aggravating factors. If the aggravating factors are found true, the Defendant faces up to 50 to life, plus 24 years, 4 months in prison at sentencing on August 14, 2026.