A federal judge on Monday denied setting any bail for a South Bay man accused of killing his wealthy boyfriend in Mexico, saying he was a flight risk and noted the defendant filed a handwritten will naming him as the slain man’s beneficiary.
Attorney Deke Falls, who represents David Enrique Meza, 25, argued that Meza’s parents in Otay Mesa had agreed to let their son live with them while he was awaiting trial in U.S. District Court in San Diego. The parents were not present at Monday’s detention hearing.
Meza is charged with committing foreign domestic violence resulting in the murder of Jake Merendino, 52, who was found stabbed to death May 2, 2015 in a ravine off the highway between Rosarito and Ensenada. His car was nearby.
Judge William Gallo said “the nature of the offense is horrendous” and noted the relationship between Meza and Merendino was “not disputed” by the defense.
“You had to know he had an unfortunate end to his life,” said Gallo to Meza, noting he had filed a handwritten will as Merendino’s beneficiary. “I do find you are a flight risk,” added Gallo.
The handwritten will was on the stationery of the Hercor Hotel in Chula Vista, where the pair had stayed and was dated December 2014, according to court documents. Meza is accused of leaving the scene of the homicide on a new motorcycle Merendino had given him for Christmas in 2014 after they met online in 2013.
Also charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice is Meza’s girlfriend, Taylor Marie Langston, 20, of Chula Vista. Langston, who is also accused of giving a false alibi of Meza’s whereabouts to an FBI agent, is not charged with the death.
Both Meza and Langston were arrested Dec. 23 in Imperial Beach and both pleaded not guilty at their Christmas Eve arraignment. Gallo set $50,000 bail for Langston, and she remains in the Metropolitan Correctional Center.
The couple have a six-month-old baby daughter, but authorities took custody away from them during the investigation, said Falls. The attorney said Meza wanted a family member to take care of his daughter while he is awaiting trial.
“There is no confession. He is in fact denying that he killed Mr. Merendino,” said Falls. “There’s no indication he imposes any danger to anyone in the community.”
Falls said both Meza and Langston were questioned by federal officials many months ago. “If he intended to flee, he could have. He didn’t go anywhere,” said Falls.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Ciaffa said Meza had dual citizenship with the U.S. and Mexico. He described him as a flight risk and said he was on probation from 2014 for domestic violence involving Langston.
Ciaffa said Meza committed the slaying while he was on probation for domestic violence and for an incident of disorderly conduct in 2013. Ciaffa noted probation was revoked twice for Meza and he failed to appear in state court once.
Gallo said his decision to deny bail also stemmed from the two previous misdemeanor convictions, specifically in which a warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to appear in court.
“Someone who does that, who cannot abide by probation conditions … that indicates you are incapable or don’t care,” said Gallo. “You’re unable to follow simple rules and it resulted in your probation being revoked twice.”
Afterwards, the prosecutor was asked about his reference to the disorderly conduct charge in which he also used the word “prostitution” in court. “I didn’t explain what it meant,” said Ciaffa.
Merendino had drawn up a will in 1998 and his attorney filed probate paperwork May 8 in Galveston, Texas, where Merendino is from. Meza contested the 1998 will before he was arrested.
Merendino and Meza were staying at a hotel in Mexico and Merendino told a security guard at 1 a.m. that he was leaving to help a friend stranded on the road. Mexican authorities found his body at 3:33 a.m. At 3:57 a.m., Meza was seen crossing the border into the U.S. on security cameras. Langston crossed the border at 4:22 a.m. in a black SUV that was registered to Meza’s parents, court documents say.
Meza and Langston will next appear in court Jan. 22 to set a trial date. If convicted, Meza faces life imprisonment and Langston could get 20 years in federal prison.
