In the quiet community of Good Hope, an unincorporated area of Perris, California, the afternoon of Tuesday, June 16, 2026, was shattered by an act of violence. At approximately 12:28 p.m., deputies from the Perris Sheriff's Station responded to a call reporting an assault with a deadly weapon at a residence on the 24000 block of Marie Street. Upon their arrival, they discovered a grim scene. Inside the home, 46-year-old Hugo Lomeli was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Paramedics were unable to save him, and he was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Central Homicide Unit was called in to take over the investigation. Detectives quickly began to piece together the events that led to Lomeli's death. Their investigation soon pointed to a suspect: 21-year-old Isaac Rodriguez-Mendoza, a resident of Good Hope. It was determined that Lomeli and Rodriguez-Mendoza were acquainted, though the nature of their relationship and a possible motive for the shooting were not immediately clear. A search for Rodriguez-Mendoza was launched in the surrounding area, and he was located and arrested without incident on the same day as the shooting. He was subsequently transported to the Perris Station for questioning before being booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of murder.
Following his arrest, the case against Isaac Rodriguez-Mendoza was submitted to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office for review. On Thursday, June 18, 2026, he was formally charged with first-degree murder. In addition to the murder charge, Rodriguez-Mendoza also faces sentence-enhancing allegations for the use of a gun and causing great bodily injury. His bail was set at $1 million. As the case proceeds through the legal system, the investigation remains ongoing. Authorities have encouraged anyone with information regarding the incident to come forward to assist Central Homicide Unit investigators. The motive behind the tragic shooting of Hugo Lomeli remains undisclosed to the public as the case awaits its day in court, leaving a community to grapple with the sudden and violent loss of one of its residents.
