BY ELIZABETH WILSON
CV Journalism Collaborative
After accepting a plea deal, the man accused of shooting from a vehicle and killing Peter Noriega Jr. in Los Banos in 2023 will spend 11 years in prison.
Police believe an argument between Jay Romero, then 28, and Noriega Jr., 36, led up to the fatal incident. Los Banos police responded June 9, 2023 near Pacheco Boulevard and Tanner Road for reports of a shooting. Noriega Jr. was found at the scene with a gunshot wound and transferred to a local hospital where he died.
“This is a tragic situation all around,” Judge Monika Donabed said during Thursday’s sentencing hearing.
Officials with the Merced County District Attorney’s Office charged Romero with two felonies in June 2023. His bail was set at no bond. In August of that year, he pleaded not guilty to both counts and denied the enhancement charges.
Upon sentencing, Romero was also ordered to pay $37,945 in restitution to Georgina Martinez, the victim’s mother. He also will need to pay the California Victim’s Compensation Board $4,218. He will be transferred to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and was denied probation.
A firearms relinquishment hearing was scheduled for Thursday as well, but it was continued to June 11. Judge Donabed instructed Romero he cannot possess any firearms or body armor.
“He got away with murder, ” April Noriega, sister of Noriega Jr. told The FOCUS in the days after the hearing. “He got a slap on the wrist.”
Romero appeared in court Thursday morning and read a statement after being sentenced. Martinez wept softly in the courtroom as he spoke. She wore a shirt featuring her son’s face with angel wings, printed above the date Romero was convicted.
“There is not enough words I could use to describe the depth of my sorrow and remorse,” Romero said, reading from a composition notebook in his hands. “I hope to find retribution for myself and help others going through the same thing, so that something like this will never happen again to anyone.”
The victim Peter Noriega Jr. loved music, cutting hair, and he had a welding certificate. He planned to enroll in barbering school prior to his death.
“He was always full of life, he was very active, always active since I think he came out of the womb,” Noriega recalled.
Hung jury on murder charge
Following the shooting, Romero was arrested and has been in jail since then.
The initial hearing to present evidence was delayed for more than seven months, court records show, due to the availability of witnesses and continuations requested by the prosecution. In four separate letters to the court, Romero’s defense attorneys argued these extensions were unfair to him.
“The longer this case is delayed, the greater the risk of further harm,” defense attorneys Paul Fromson and Christopher Loethen wrote in December 2025.
A three-week trial in January ended in a hung jury on the second-degree murder charge. Romero was convicted of first-degree voluntary manslaughter on April 2, according to court records. He entered a no-contest plea for voluntary manslaughter and admitted to the aggravation enhancement.
The prosecution called on more than 15 witnesses during the jury trial, Deputy District Attorney Natalia Enero told The FOCUS. This included Noriega Jr.’s family.
On April 2, Peter Noriega Jr.’s family members wore matching shirts in remembrance – just one of the ways they keep his memory alive.
The family tributes him through memorials at their homes, shirts, music, and even a tattoo. “We always include him, no matter what. He’s always here with us, no matter what,” April Noriega said.
