Viewers may remember that he was charged with manslaughter for the February 2004 shooting death of 23 year-old Leroy Pilgrim, a resident of San Pedro. At the time, it was very high-profile case because the issue was raised that Caliz allegedly used unjustified deadly force against Pilgrim, dragging him to a secluded area and then executing him. He was convicted of manslaughter but he appealed his conviction and won after serving 1 and a half years of his 10-year sentence.

The prosecution called 8 witnesses to testify against Caliz, including the brother of the deceased. The witness said that Caliz pushed Pilgrim in the water, pulled a firearm and then shot him from behind, once behind the ear.

Another prosecution witness told the court that she saw both Caliz and Pilgrim fall into the water, and short while later, she heard the sound of a gunshot.

Caliz, who gave a dock statement said that Pilgrim started to behave aggressively shouting out that the officers intended to plant a weapon on him after they searched him and found nothing. According to Caliz, he held Leroy Pilgrim's shirt in one hand, and the service weapon in the other, and that's when Pilgrim pulled him, and they fell into the water. Caliz said that during that struggle, Pilgrim was shot.