A Feb. 22 trial date was confirmed Monday for a convicted felon accused of gunning down a 20-year-old man and wounding his female companion during a confrontation near downtown Hemet.
Roman Ralph Mendez, 22, of Castro Valley was arrested in 2022 following a Hemet Police Department investigation into the slaying of Jason Roy of Hemet.
Mendez is charged with murder, attempted murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.
During a status hearing at the Banning Justice Center Monday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Joshlyn Pulliam conferred with the prosecution and defense regarding scheduling, and both sides agreed to clear their calendars for trial proceedings toward the end of next month.
Pulliam then assigned pretrial motions to the courtroom of Superior Court Judge Jorge Hernandez.
Mendez is being held in lieu of $2 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.
According to Hemet police Lt. Michael Mouat, just after 3 a.m. on Oct. 27, 2022, Mendez was involved in an unspecified confrontation with Roy in the 200 block of South Columbia Street, near Florida Avenue.
Mouat alleged that Mendez pulled a handgun and shot both Roy and the woman with him, then fled the location. A motive was not disclosed.
Witnesses called 911, and patrol officers and paramedics arrived minutes later, at which point Roy was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman, whose identity was not released, suffered a single gunshot wound and underwent surgery. She has since recovered.
Detectives identified Mendez as the alleged shooter soon afterward and requested assistance from the county Gang Impact Team, composed of law enforcement officers from throughout the region, to track down the defendant, according to Mouat.
He said the team located Mendez a week later in Castro Valley, where he was taken into custody without incident.
The defendant has prior felony convictions in another jurisdiction that weren’t specified in court records.
