MURRIETA — A felon who gunned down a 20-year-old Hemet man and severely wounded the victim’s girlfriend in a dispute over unpaid debts was sentenced Friday to 83 years to life in prison.
A Murrieta jury in April convicted 22-year-old Roman Ralph Mendez of Castro Valley of the 2022 slaying of Jason Roy and the near-fatal shooting of 20-year-old Kira Carlson.
Along with first-degree murder and attempted murder, Mendez was found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.
During a hearing at the Southwest Justice Center Friday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge F. Paul Dickerson imposed the sentence required by law.
According to a trial brief filed by the District Attorney’s Office, the defendant was a narcotics dealer, and he and Roy were acquaintances. The victim owed the defendant “thousands of dollars” stemming from unpaid drug debts, court papers said.
In the predawn hours of Oct. 27, 2022, Mendez notified Roy that he was coming to the victim’s apartment in Hemet at 201 S. Columbia St., near Florida Avenue, to collect some of what he was owed, or possibly take Roy’s compact pistol as partial payment, the brief stated.
Carlson was with Roy in the apartment.
Roy had consumed marijuana, methamphetamine and cocaine in the hours prior to the defendant’s visit, according to the brief.
Carlson later told investigators Mendez was in a hostile mood, repeatedly asking Roy, “where’s the money?” or “where’s the gun?”
“Roy told the defendant, `We don’t gotta do this,’ and he stopped answering the defendant’s questions,” the brief said. “So the defendant began asking Carlson where the money was.”
She told detectives she didn’t know how to respond and busied herself with other things as Roy sat down on the floor and turned quiet.
A minute or two passed, during which Mendez searched Roy for his pistol, Carlson said. As her head was turned, she heard a gunshot. Before she could react, another shot rang out, and the victim collapsed onto the floor, realizing seconds later that she had been shot, according to prosecutors.
A neighbor across from the victims’ apartment called 911, and Hemet police officers arrived minutes later.
Roy was found dead from a bullet that went through his head, and Carlson had been shot in the back of the head, bleeding profusely but conscious, according to court papers.
She underwent surgery at Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley, spending several months in recovery.
Detectives identified Mendez as the shooter after speaking with Carlson.
The defendant had prior felony convictions in another jurisdiction not specified in court records.
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