Merced mother speaks out after arrest made in son’s 2008 slaying

For nearly a decade, Marylene Riley has been waiting for justice, praying for an arrest in connection with the slaying of her oldest son.

To keep her son’s unsolved shooting death in the public eye, she participated for many years in the Merced County District Attorney’s Victim Rights Ceremony. She organized an annual march called the “Remembrance Walk,” retracing the path her 29-year-old son Michael Riley took on Oct. 7, 2008, before he was shot outside the Village Meadows Apartments in the 1100 block of Loughborough Drive.

“We needed to keep our loved ones’ names and faces out there,” Riley said.

On Thursday, officers arrived at her doorstep and told her they have made an arrest for her eldest son’s slaying, and they were bringing the suspected shooter back to Merced.

“My mind and heart were racing, and I cried and I prayed and I laughed,” Riley said. “I believed they would get him. I believed that in all my heart.”

Jerome Slayton Jr., a 30-year-old San Jose resident, was arrested in the San Jose area Thursday evening and booked into Merced County Jail without bail on suspicion of first-degree murder, according to Merced police and jail records.

Slayton’s bail was set at $2 million during an arraignment hearing Friday, according to Merced Superior Court records.

Detectives haven’t recovered the murder weapon but believe the shooting was gang-motivated, Merced Police Sgt. Rey Alvarez said.

Slayton was described by police as a known gang member in Merced. He has been a person of interest in the slaying since at least 2010. But it wasn’t until Detective Jeff Horn re-questioned some witnesses a couple months ago that authorities had what they needed to issue a warrant for Slayton’s arrest, Alvarez said.

“We knew he was involved, but we didn’t have enough to arrest him,” Alvarez said. “We interviewed some people and they clarified their statements” from earlier in the investigation.

Horn, who has been on the case since last year, said the police department has been following up on leads throughout the last decade.

“The bottom line is we work it until there are no more leads,” Horn said. “Sometimes, things fall into place quicker.”

Horn thanked Michael Riley’s family for keeping faith in the investigation.

Horn said he called Marylene Riley about two months ago to tell her police were close to an arrest.

“She said ‘I’ve heard that before,’ but she was (supportive),” Horn said. “She’s a very strong-willed mother.”

Michael Riley’s family and friends gathered around his grave at the Merced Cemetery District on Friday afternoon to share thoughts and memories.

Michael Riley was an honor student at Merced College at the time of his slaying, his family has said. He also was a U.S. Navy veteran, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Marylene Riley said she had three things she would say to the man who killed her son. She would want the killer to experience a war zone like her son had because, she said, “Michael fought for him.” She would want the killer to get the death penalty by firing squad, though she knows that isn’t allowed in California, and she would want the killer to apologize and to “confess himself to Christ.”

Marylene Riley said she also hopes Michael Riley gets more justice than her younger son, 27-year-old Marlis Riley, got when 40-year-old Donald Emory Watts and 27-year-old Nicholas Terril Rhodes pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter for killing Marlis Riley on Sept. 12, 2009.

“We didn’t lose Mikey, he was taken from us,” said Pete Duarte, Michael Riley’s childhood friend. “I have a lot of anger and a lot of different feelings about that. I’m more than happy they were finally able to arrest (Slayton) for it. This has been years in the making.”

While police have made an arrest, they are still seeking information about the shooting.

“We still have people we would love to talk with,” Horn said. “People might have been scared to talk before.”

Slayton is scheduled to enter a plea to the murder charge Wednesday, according to court records.

Marylene Riley plans to attend court hearings in the case.

“I’m happy Michael will finally have his day in court.”

This story was originally published July 20, 2018 at 9:31 AM.