In the early morning hours of a November Saturday in Mableton, Georgia, a dispute that had been simmering for weeks erupted into deadly violence. The life of 24-year-old Roman Orlando Mejia-Nunez, a Hispanic male from Austell, was cut short in a hail of gunfire at the Waverly Mobile Home Park on Plantation Hill Road. The shooting, which occurred around 12:15 a.m.
on November 2, 2019, was the tragic culmination of an ongoing conflict between Mejia-Nunez and two local teenagers.
Following the shooting, Mejia-Nunez's friends desperately tried to rush him to a hospital. Their journey for help ended about a mile from the mobile home park when they spotted a Cobb County police officer at a QuikTrip on Mableton Parkway. The officer immediately called for an ambulance, and Mejia-Nunez was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital. Despite these efforts, his injuries proved to be too severe, and he was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the homicide quickly led to two suspects, 17-year-old Kevin Mendez and 14-year-old Tony Montano, both from Austell. Within days of the shooting, both teenagers were arrested. They faced a string of serious charges, including murder, aggravated assault, and weapons possession. Despite his young age, the gravity of the crime led to the decision that Tony Montano would be charged as an adult. The two were held in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center without bond.
In January 2020, a Cobb County grand jury indicted both Mendez and Montano on charges of malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault. This decision paved the way for them to be tried as adults for the killing of Roman Orlando Mejia-Nunez, bringing the case one step closer to a resolution and the prospect of justice for the victim and his family.
