Man Pleads Not Guilty After Woman Killed in California Home

By Dana Whitfield. Oct 8, 2026

A Late-Night Shooting Led to an Arrest the Next Morning

A California man has pleaded not guilty to murder after 60-year-old Reyna Espinosa was found fatally shot inside a San Miguel residence and investigators arrested him the following morning. Jose Joaquin Sevilla Ruiz, 61, entered the plea in San Luis Obispo County court on Oct. 1.

Deputies were called to the 500 block of River Road at about 10 p.m. on Sept. 28 after a report of shots fired. They found Espinosa inside the residence with multiple gunshot wounds and attempted lifesaving measures, but she died.

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office identified Sevilla Ruiz as the suspect and said he had left before deputies arrived. Investigators tracked him east out of the county, and a special operations team arrested him in Wasco the next morning with help from local police and the California Highway Patrol.

Sheriff’s officials said detectives believe the shooting followed a domestic disturbance and verbal argument. Authorities have not publicly confirmed the exact relationship between Espinosa and Sevilla Ruiz, despite some early local reports describing them as spouses.

Murder Charge Filed as the Investigation Continued

Prosecutors charged Sevilla Ruiz with murder and added an allegation that he personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing death. He pleaded not guilty and denied the firearm allegation.

KSBY reported that a judge ordered him held without bail and scheduled a later pre-preliminary hearing. The charge remains an accusation, and his not-guilty plea means the case will proceed through the court process rather than ending with the arrest.

A weapon was reportedly recovered at the residence. Investigators have not released a full evidence inventory or a detailed account of the alleged argument. They also have not publicly described a motive beyond the statement that a domestic disturbance preceded the shooting.

The sheriff’s office said the incident appeared isolated and that investigators were not searching for additional suspects. That allowed the immediate public-safety concern to end quickly even as detectives continued building the homicide case.

Espinosa’s identity was released after her next of kin had been notified. Family members later described her in a fundraiser for memorial expenses as loving and kind, according to KSBY. Those details are among the limited public glimpses of her life beyond the homicide investigation.

The Case Moves From Search to Courtroom

The arrest occurred less than 12 hours after the shooting, but the legal process has only begun. Sevilla Ruiz faces a murder charge, has entered a not-guilty plea and remains in custody without bail while investigators continue working the case.

The court will eventually have to weigh the evidence that led detectives from the River Road residence to the arrest in Wasco. Public reporting has established that deputies found Espinosa inside the home, that Sevilla Ruiz had left, and that investigators followed leads suggesting he was traveling east before locating him.

There are still unresolved points in the public record. The sheriff’s office has not confirmed the pair’s precise relationship, and authorities have not described what was said during the alleged argument or how long the disturbance lasted before the shooting.

For Espinosa’s family, the case began with a late-night emergency at a home and moved almost immediately into a search for a suspect. It now sits in court, where Sevilla Ruiz has denied the murder allegation and prosecutors will have to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The investigation remains open, and the sheriff’s office continues to ask anyone with information to contact detectives. Espinosa’s death, however, is no longer an unresolved homicide without a defendant: there has been an arrest, a filed murder charge and a formal plea setting the next phase of the case.

References: Man charged in San Miguel woman’s death pleads not guilty | San Miguel Man Arrested In Connection With Homicide Following A Domestic Incident