A Banning jury needed only a few hours to convict 24-year-old Merlin Perales Ortiz of first-degree murder, conspiracy and a special-circumstance allegation in a robbery plot that left 20-year-old Wesley Flores Miranda dead outside a Riverside apartment in 2020. Prosecutors said Ortiz, of Yucca Valley, orchestrated the holdup that spiraled into a killing when Miranda refused to hand over his backpack.
According to KESQ, jurors convicted Ortiz of conspiracy and the special-circumstance allegation of killing in the course of a robbery, finding her guilty in the 2020 slaying of Miranda, who was a Honduran national. The holdup occurred on the night of Nov. 8, 2020, at an apartment in Riverside's Canyon Crest neighborhood, in the 5200 block of El Cerrito Drive, a unit leased by the girlfriend of co-defendant Cristian Alejandro Runkle, according to MyNewsLA.com.
How the Robbery Plot Unfolded
Prosecutors said Ortiz was the principal planner in the holdup, directing co-defendant Isaiah Israel Rodriguez to act as the gunman, per the station's report. The trio obtained Miranda's contact information via social media and arranged to meet him at the residence belonging to Runkle's girlfriend, identified in court papers as Star, who the same account says had fallen asleep in her bedroom after drinking and using drugs earlier that day.
Security cameras captured nearly the entire sequence of events that night. Surveillance video showed Miranda emerging from his car carrying a backpack and walking to the apartment, where Ortiz met him at the door. He was then confronted by Runkle and Rodriguez, and Rodriguez brandished a Glock 9mm semiautomatic handgun at him, the outlet reported.
Fatal Shooting Outside the Doorway
Ortiz ordered Miranda in Spanish to give up his backpack, but he refused. He was fatally shot in the upper body just outside the doorway, according to the prosecution's account relayed by KESQ. The trio then fled with Miranda's backpack, leaving Star behind to deal with the dead man and the Riverside police officers who responded to the scene.
A trial brief filed by the district attorney's office alleged that Ortiz and her co-defendants were affiliated with a decades-old San Bernardino street gang and had schemed for months to rob marijuana dealers throughout the region, per the same report. Detectives spent four weeks collecting evidence before identifying the three defendants, who were taken into custody without incident in San Bernardino County.
Co-Defendants Already Sentenced
Rodriguez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in October 2021 and admitted a sentence-enhancing gun-use allegation; he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Runkle also pleaded guilty to second-degree murder that same month and was sentenced to 15 years to life, the outlet noted.
Ortiz's bail status has been reported differently at different points in the case. KTLA reported in December 2020 that she was being held on $1 million bail, while KESQ's more recent account states she is being held without bail at Smith Correctional Facility. Ortiz had no documented prior felony or misdemeanor convictions, according to the station.
Sentencing Set for Next Month
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jonathan Mendoza scheduled Ortiz's sentencing hearing for Nov. 18 at the Banning Justice Center. She is expected to receive life in prison without the possibility of parole, per the same report.
Robbery-related killings tied to the marijuana trade have surfaced in other Southern California cases as well. In a separate case out of Inglewood, a Long Beach man was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for his primary role in a March 2021 murder during a marijuana deal, according to the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office.
