JURUPA VALLEY, CA — A Jan. 20 trial date was confirmed Tuesday for a man accused of fatally shooting his 68-year-old grandmother during a dispute at her Jurupa Valley home.
James Paul Lopez, 30, of Jurupa Valley was arrested in 2021 following a Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation into the slaying of Roberta L. Lopez inside her residence in the 5000 block of El Palomino Drive, along the Indian Hills Golf Club fairway.
The defendant is charged with first-degree murder and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.
During a pretrial hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Joshlyn Pulliam conferred with the prosecution and defense regarding scheduling, and the two sides indicated they would work on preparing for trial proceedings in the last week of January, prompting the judge to set the date.
There are no intervening hearings scheduled in the case.
Lopez is being held on $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail.
According to sheriff's Sgt. Ed Baeza, shortly before 10 p.m. on Aug. 4, 2021, the defendant was involved in an unspecified dispute with the victim, and he allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot her.
Witnesses called 911, and deputies and paramedics reached the location within a few minutes, finding Roberta Lopez dead in the home, Baeza said.
The defendant was located nearby and detained for questioning by Central Homicide Unit detectives without incident, after which he was booked into jail.
Lopez has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.
The case has been repeatedly delayed due to the defense's ongoing motions for mental health evaluations, the most recent ones occurring last year, involving a forensic psychiatrist and neuro-psychologist, according to court records.
The defendant has been deemed mentally competent to stand trial.
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