Yucca Valley woman found guilty of 2020 Riverside murder

A Riverside County jury returned guilty verdicts on Thursday, Oct. 29, in the 2020 death of a marijuana dealer.

Merlin Perales Ortiz, 24, was found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and killing in the course of a robbery.

The case centers on a Nov. 8, 2020, holdup at an apartment in the Canyon Crest neighborhood of south Riverside.

Ortiz and two co-defendants planned to rob local dealers for months, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

They met Wesley Flores Miranda, 20, at an apartment leased by Cristian Runkle’s girlfriend, known as “Star.”

Star fell asleep in her bedroom after drinking and using drugs, court papers stated.

Ortiz directed Isaiah Rodriguez to act as the gunman during the encounter.

Video footage captured Miranda arriving with a backpack and entering the apartment.

Inside, Runkle and Rodriguez confronted the victim.

Rodriguez brandished a Glock 9mm semiautomatic handgun.

Ortiz ordered Miranda in Spanish to surrender his backpack.

Miranda refused, leading to a struggle that ended with a fatal shot to the upper body just outside the doorway, prosecutors said. The trio fled with the backpack, leaving Star to handle the aftermath as police arrived. Detectives identified all three suspects after a four-week evidence collection period. Rodriguez and Runkle, both now 23, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Oct. 2021. Rodriguez received a 25-years-to-life sentence due to a gun-use enhancement. Runkle was sentenced to 15 years to life. Ortiz is held without bail at Smith Correctional Facility. Judge Jonathan Mendoza set her sentencing for Nov. 18 at the Banning Justice Center.