A federal judge on Monday set a detention hearing for Jan. 4 for a South Bay man accused of killing his wealthy boyfriend in Mexico.
David Enrique Meza, 25, walked into the courtroom in a tan prison uniform with a chain around his feet and met his attorney for the first time. It was his second court appearance since he was arraigned Christmas Eve for the slaying of Jake Clyde Merendino, 52.
His lawyer explained to U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge William Gallo he had not met Meza until minutes earlier as a result of the Christmas holiday. Another attorney represented Meza when he pleaded not guilty.
Meza met Merendino online in 2013 and had a romantic relationship, according to U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. They stayed at the Hercor Hotel in Chula Vista a few days before Merendino was found stabbed to death on May 2 in a ravine near a highway between Rosarito and Ensenada, Mexico.
Meza was arrested Dec. 23 in Imperial Beach with his girlfriend, Taylor Marie Langston, 20, who is a graduate of Chula Vista High School. Langston is not charged in the murder, but is charged with obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and making a false statement to an FBI agent concerning Meza’s whereabouts at the time of the murder.
Federal murder cases are rare because of jurisdictional issues, but this one qualifies as it was the murder of an American citizen in Mexico. Meza is charged with foreign domestic violence resulting in murder as well as conspiracy to obstruct justice in the U.S.
Meza is also accused of submitting a handwritten will that named him as the sole beneficiary of Merendino’s estate, something that is being contested in a Texas court as Merendino made a will in 1998. The handwritten will is on the stationary of the Hercor Hotel in Chula Vista and is dated Dec., 2014.
In the detention hearing, federal prosecutors will ask Gallo to hold Meza at the Metropolitan Correctional Center without bail. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra Foster urged $75,000 bail for Langston, and he set bail at $50,000.
Langston’s mother, grandmother and other family members were at the Christmas Eve arraignment. Langston has pleaded not guilty and remains in jail.
Foster said Langston was pregnant with Meza’s baby at the time of the slaying. Their apartment was searched June 4 and the victim’s iPad was found there. Langston is accused of falsely giving an alibi for Meza at the time of the slaying, claiming they were both at a friend’s home in Tijuana.
If convicted, Meza faces life imprisonment, and Langston could receive a 20-year sentence.
