In the early morning hours of November 19, 2020, a quiet residential street in West Jordan, Utah, became the scene of a fatal shooting. Raymond Ortiz, a 39-year-old Hispanic male from Santa Rosa, California, was found deceased beside his van near Ticklegrass Road and Sparrowtail Road. The tranquility of the neighborhood was shattered around 2 a.m. by the sound of multiple gunshots, prompting residents to alert the authorities.
When West Jordan police officers arrived, they discovered Ortiz's body and began an investigation into what would be classified as a homicide.
Surveillance footage from a nearby home provided detectives with their first significant leads. The video showed Ortiz parking his large van on the street with the headlights off. Shortly after, a silver Cadillac approached, and several gunshots were fired into Ortiz's vehicle. The van then moved forward, striking the Cadillac. A person emerged from the Cadillac and fired two more shots into the van. Following this, a second individual got out of the Cadillac, retrieved two large bags from Ortiz's van, and placed them in their vehicle. Before the suspects could flee, Ortiz's van collided with their car once more.
The investigation quickly gained momentum after police appealed to the public for information. A crucial tip led authorities to a damaged Cadillac hidden under a tarp at a residence in Kearns, Utah. This discovery led them to 20-year-old Sarah Elaine Lobato and 18-year-old Jayton Trevor Merrill of Grantsville. As officers were preparing a search warrant for the home, Lobato and Merrill arrived in a different vehicle and were taken into custody. A search of their car uncovered a drug ledger, ammunition, and items associated with marijuana sales.
During questioning, Lobato revealed that she had been in a tumultuous sexual relationship with Ortiz since March 2020 and that they had lived together. She admitted to orchestrating the meeting in West Jordan with the intention of harming him and stealing a large quantity of marijuana. Lobato confessed that she and Merrill had planned the attack, during which Merrill shot Ortiz. Following the shooting, she stole approximately 50 pounds of marijuana from his van. Investigators also learned that Ortiz had a prior criminal history related to drug distribution. Both Lobato and Merrill were arrested and faced multiple charges, including aggravated murder and aggravated robbery. Merrill was also charged with possession of a firearm by a restricted person.
