Man sentenced to 83 years to life in fatal drug-related shooting in Hemet – Press Enterprise

MURRIETA — A felon who fatally shot a 20-year-old Hemet man and seriously injured the victim's girlfriend in a dispute over unpaid debts was sentenced Friday to 83 years to life in prison.

In April, a Murrieta jury found Roman Ralph Mendez, 22, of Castro Valley, guilty of the 2022 murder of Jason Roy and the near-fatal shooting of 20-year-old Kira Carlson.

In addition to first-degree murder and attempted murder, Mendez was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and aggravated weapon and serious bodily injury allegations.

At a hearing at the Southwest Justice Center on Friday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge F. Paul Dickerson imposed the sentence required by law.

According to a 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” from unpaid drug debts, according to court documents.

In the predawn hours of Oct. 27, 2022, Mendez informed Roy that he was going to the victim's Hemet apartment 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 filing states.

Carlson was with Roy in the apartment.

Roy had used marijuana, methamphetamine and cocaine in the hours before the defendant's visit, according to the brief.

Carlson later told investigators that Mendez was in a hostile mood, repeatedly asking Roy, “Where's the money?” or “where is the gun?”

“Roy told the defendant, 'We don't need to do this,' and stopped answering the defendant's questions,” the brief states. “So the defendant started asking Carlson where the money was.”

She told detectives she didn't know how to react and busied herself with other things while Roy sat on the floor and became quiet.

A minute or two passed, during which Mendez searched Roy for his gun, Carlson said. As she turned her head, she heard a gunshot. Before she could react, another gunshot rang out and the victim collapsed to the ground, realizing seconds later that he had been shot, according to prosecutors.

A neighbor across the street from the victims' apartment called 911 and Hemet police arrived a few minutes later.

Roy was found dead from a gunshot wound to his head, and Carlson was shot in the back of the head, bleeding profusely but conscious, court documents said.

She underwent surgery at Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley, spending several months recovering.

Detectives identified Mendez as the shooter after speaking with Carlson.

The defendant had a prior felony conviction in another jurisdiction not specified in court records.