Jury convicts Merced man of murder, other charges in marijuana deal that turned deadly
A Merced County jury has convicted a 27-year-old man of first degree murder and other charges for a 2015 shooting, where a drug deal turned deadly.
Tyler Seng Saephan now faces a maximum of life in prison for the first-degree murder of Adrian Ayala. He was also convicted of second-degree robbery and using a firearm in the commission of the offense.
Saephan gunned down Ayala outside a residence on Eric Court, southwest of G Street and West Olive Avenue. Ayala was shot dead in the driveway of his residence.
“Based on the evidence, we determined he went there to rob the victim,” Supervising Deputy District Attorney Nicole Silveira, the prosecutor in the case, told the Sun-Star on Friday. “Phone records put him in the area at the time of the murder. He admitted to being there.”
According to Silveira, Saephan said he thought Ayala was going to pull a gun on him when the defendant went to Ayala’s house to buy marijuana. Saephan pulled out his gun and shot Ayala in the chest at close range, Silveira said.
“This has been a long time coming for the victim’s family,” Silveira said. “It’s been seven years, and this provides closure for them moving forward.”
Saephan was also found guilty of theft of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of ammunition by a prohibited person, according to the press release.
The August 2015 murder was the result of what witnesses testified was a drug deal gone bad. Saephan went to the house of Ayala’s family in Merced, according to court documents, to buy marijuana he and Ayala had been communicating about on Facebook’s messaging app.
When Saephan showed up to buy the marijuana, Ayala gave him a plastic grocery bag full of it before Saephan suspected the 20-year-old Ayala was going to pull out a gun and start shooting him. After Ayala was shot, Saephan drove away with the marijuana.
Police didn’t catch up to Saephan until 2017. During police questioning, according to police reports, Saephan said he was with a friend of his, Cesar Barrera, who was the one to shoot Ayala before driving away.
Barrera, who is also a co-defendant in the case, has outstanding burglary charges against him and a warrant out for his arrest for failing to appear in court. The last court date in Barrera’s case was several years ago and it is not clear where he is now.
“This day has been long awaited by Adrian’s family and we hope it helps to provide them with some measure of closure,” said Natalia Enero, who delivered the closing arguments in the case on Thursday.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 18 at 8:30 a.m. in the Merced County Superior Court.
This story was originally published February 18, 2022 at 3:36 PM.