A San Luis Obispo man has been sentenced for his conviction of violent crimes committed during a home invasion robbery in rural San Luis Obispo in February 2021.
District Attorney Dan Dow announced Tuesday that Johnny Jesse Roman, 39, of San Luis Obispo is sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Roman's convictions and sentencing were the result of a February 13, 2021, incident. Roman forced entry into an elderly victim's home, tied the victim up, and stole thousands of dollars in cash from within the residence and a vehicle parked outside. After Roman fled the scene, the victim remained restrained in her residence for several hours until she was found by a family member.
Roman fled California and was arrested in Virginia in March 2021, after which he was extradited and returned to San Luis Obispo County.
On October 19, Roman pleaded no contest to all charges against him. His crimes were committed against a 75-year-old woman residing in a rural portion of San Luis Obispo.
Roman also admitted that he was previously convicted of two violent felonies under California's Three Strikes Law. These prior convictions were: Residential Burglary in 2005 and Robbery in 2006. His plea to the current crimes and his admission of the prior "strike" convictions subjected him to a maximum sentence of 41 years to life in prison.
Tuesday, the assigned prosecutor and the Probation Department, in its sentencing report, advocated for the Judge to impose the maximum sentence because of the violence perpetrated against the elderly woman and the similarity of Roman's prior violent offense convictions.
There was no plea agreement between the defendant and the District Attorney's Office. Rather, the defendant pleaded no contest to all charges in hopes of receiving leniency from the Judge, who exercised his discretion to provide a lesser sentence by striking the additional 16 years in prison that was allowed under California law for these convictions.
