No bail for alleged boyfriend killer

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 Clyde 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 stationary 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.

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.

“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.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Ciaffa said Meza had dual citizenship with 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.

Meza and Langston will next appear in court on Jan. 22 to set a trial date. If convicted, Meza faces life imprisonment and Langston could get 20 years in federal prison.