Mother Pleads Not Guilty to Conspiracy

The mother of accused killer Justin Merriman appeared in a Ventura County courtroom Wednesday, pleading not guilty to charges that she conspired with her only son to intimidate witnesses in his murder case.

Wearing blue jail clothes, Beverlee Sue Merriman hid her face with a piece of paper to avoid being photographed by the media. She did the same at an afternoon bail hearing.

Defense attorney Joel Steinfeld asked a judge to lower his client’s bail, arguing that the 51-year-old Ventura bookkeeper is not a flight risk.

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Ron Bamieh opposed the request, calling Merriman a “danger to the community.”

Bamieh told the judge that Merriman has actively tried to prevent witnesses from testifying against her son, who was indicted by the grand jury in December on 25 criminal counts, including rape and murder.

Judge Edward Brodie kept the bail amount at $120,000.

Beverlee Sue Merriman was indicted June 16 on conspiracy charges and June 21 on a single count of perjury. She faces an added allegation that her actions were intended to aid a criminal street gang.

Two other women have also been indicted by the grand jury for allegedly conspiring with Justin Merriman to frighten witnesses.

Jennifer Wepplo, 23, of Somis and Samantha Medina, 25, of Madera have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges. They are not considered co-conspirators of Beverlee Sue Merriman.

All three women are scheduled to stand trial in separate cases in July.