Man Sentenced For North County Man's Shooting Death

VISTA, CA — A man convicted of second-degree murder for shooting a Vista man inside the victim's townhome was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years to life in state prison.

Jheran Beverson, 24, was found guilty by a Vista jury earlier this year for the Aug. 7, 2021, shooting death of 52-year-old Shannon Betz, who was found in his bedroom with a gunshot wound to the back of his head.

Prosecutors allege Beverson and Betz first interacted with each other on a dating app, then arranged to meet at Betz's home on Aug. 7.

Betz's roommate, who was on vacation at the time, arrived at the home on the night of Aug. 8 and discovered Betz's body. The victim was found nude on his bed and his wallet had also been taken, prosecutors said.

According to the prosecution's trial brief, photos of Beverson were found on Betz's phone through the dating app. Beverson was arrested at his Oceanside home one week after Betz's death.

Prosecutors said location data from Beverson's cell phone indicated he was in the area of Betz's home around the time investigators believe the killing occurred.

About a half-hour after he typed Betz's home address into a map application on his phone, a car matching Beverson's was seen on surveillance footage speeding away from the area near Betz's home, according to the trial brief. Beverson uninstalled the dating app from his phone around the same time the car was captured on surveillance footage, prosecutors say.

While Beverson faced up to 40 years to life in state prison for the murder count and a gun-use allegation, Superior Court Judge Michael Washington declined to impose the gun enhancement, which carries a 25-year-to-life term.

Washington ruled that the defendant's age at the time of the shooting, his lack of criminal history, and the firing of only one shot warranted striking the gun allegation.

"Although we believe defendant deserves the maximum sentence, we respect the court's decision," Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe said in a statement after the hearing. "We argued for a 40-years to life sentence based on the cold-blooded nature of the crime and the execution style of the murder. Defendant sought out an innocent victim on Grindr. Defendant fired his gun to the back of the victim's skull while the victim was naked and vulnerable. In our opinion, he deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison."

— City News Service