Omar Meza
A Redwood City man convicted of first-degree murder in the previously mysterious 2018 killing of a Menlo Park man on a Highway 1 pullout has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office said.
Omar Villagomez Meza, 31, was sentenced Jan. 23, with special circumstance convictions for use of a firearm and ambush lying in wait found true and adding to his sentence, according to the DA’s Office.
He was found guilty Friday, Nov. 17, after a nearly monthlong jury trial. The victim, 25-year-old Luis Alberto Diaz-Lopez, was found dead Oct. 2, 2018, near the Tunitas Creek Road pullout, and detectives arrested Meza in connection with the crime in 2020, after he served time in Oklahoma federal prison for unrelated unlawful firearm possession charges, prosecutors said.
Meza, along with an unnamed woman, drove with Diaz-Lopez along the coast — ostensibly to commit a robbery — before Meza had the woman pull the car over. At this point he shot Diaz-Lopez several times, then took his cellphone and jewelry, according to prosecutors.
The woman is only involved in the trial as a witness and is not being charged with any crimes, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.
The jury deadlocked 8-4 on another special circumstance charge, if Meza committed the murder for the purpose of robbery, Wagstaffe said.
Due to Meza’s two previous felony strikes, he faces life in prison without parole. The court set a Nov. 29 date for trial on prior convictions and to set a sentencing date, Wagstaffe said.
Proceedings in the case were halted briefly in 2021 when the victim’s brother and another man attacked Meza while he was shackled to a chair in court. Deputies tackled the brother and subdued him while the other man was able to land several punches before being stopped. Both were arrested and taken out of court in handcuffs and the trial proceeded with more security.
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