Arleta Man Sentenced in 1986 Slaying of Woman Protecting Her Daughter

An Arleta man who fled to Mexico more than 15 years ago after he and his brother killed a 21-year-old woman trying to protect her daughter was sentenced Friday to 19 years to life in prison.

Omar Montez Zepeda, 40, was convicted May 1 of second-degree murder in the Dec. 28, 1986, slaying of Patricia Lemus of San Fernando. He fled to Mexico soon after but returned two years ago to the San Fernando Valley, where he was arrested.

In 1988, his brother, Carlos, had been sentenced to 33 years to life in prison for killing Lemus.

The latest sentence was a relief for members of the Lemus family, who have attended most of the San Fernando Superior Court appearances of Zepeda and those of his brother 15 years ago. For many family members, such as Lemus’ sister Veronica, Friday’s sentencing was “justice at last.”

Patricia Lemus was killed after she pulled into the parking lot of a San Fernando strip mall to avoid traffic on Rinaldi Street and talk to friends. There she encountered the Zepeda brothers, who were riding through the lot on a motorcycle, Deputy Dist. Atty. Shellie Samuels said.

Omar Zepeda had fought with a man on a nearby street, left and returned on a motorcycle with his brother and a gun, looking for the man.

The brothers found him hiding near Lemus’ car, Samuels said. Lemus’ 18-month-old daughter, Vanessa, was asleep in the car, she said. According to witnesses, Lemus shouted, “Don’t shoot. Don’t shoot! My baby is in the car!” Carlos Zepeda then shot Lemus in the face at point-blank range and rode off with his brother, Samuels said.

“They just wanted to kill someone that night,” Samuels said.

Carlos Zepeda was arrested the next day, but Omar fled to Mexico, where he started a new life, Samuels said.

Los Angeles Police Department detectives said Zepeda told them he stayed with an aunt.

He later got married and moved to Tijuana, where he joined the police force, he told detectives.

Zepeda was arrested two years ago when he returned to San Fernando to work at his family’s restaurant, she said.