Sonoma County man enters not guilty plea in murder case
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A Sonoma County man accused of murdering a Lucerne resident in the summer was in Lake County Superior Court on Tuesday, entering a not guilty plea in the case.
Nova Maye Deperno, 26, of Occidental, pleaded not guilty to the murder of 63-year-old Ronald Meluso, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.
Meluso was last heard from and reported missing in August. In December, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said it believed Meluso was the victim of foul play and identified Deperno as a person of interest in the case.
Authorities arrested Deperno in Occidental on Jan. 13 for several felony charges.
The day after his arrest in Sonoma County, the sheriff’s office said Deperno assisted detectives in locating human remains in a rural area off Bartlett Springs Road in northern Lake County.
Deperno was arrested for Meluso’s murder on Jan. 20, as Lake County News has reported.
Hinchcliff said investigators believe Meluso died from a gunshot.
Last week, Deperno first appeared in Lake County Superior Court, Hinchcliff said.
“We charged him with five different felony cases last week,” which involved crimes that took place from July 2020 to February 2021, Hinchcliff said.
Those felonies, which Hinchcliff said involved several victims, are for vandalism in July 2020; assault with a firearm and threats, and felony evading, all of which occurred in December 2020; threats and negligent discharge of a firearm in January 2021; and assault with a firearm in February 2021.
At his court appearance last week, Deperno was ordered to be held without bail, Hinchcliff said.
On Tuesday, Deperno was arraigned for first degree murder with special circumstances that could get him life without the possibility of parole if convicted, Hinchcliff said.
Dana Liberatore has been appointed as Deperno’s defense attorney.
Hinchcliff said that first degree murder charge has special circumstances of being committed for financial gain and lying in wait.
If convicted of murder, Deperno could face 25 years to life in prison. Another 25 years to life could be added to any term due to the additional allegation of the use of a firearm, Hinchcliff said.
Judge Andrew Blum ordered Deperno to be held without bail for the murder charge and set his preliminary hearing for March 9, although Hinchcliff said he suspects that hearing will be continued.
While Deperno has pleaded not guilty to the homicide, Hinchcliff said he has yet to enter pleas in the other five charges, which are now trailing the murder case.
Hinchcliff said he could not talk about a possible motive for the killing, and added he didn’t know what Deperno was doing in Lake County.
Outside of the charges he’s facing in Lake County, Deperno has no previous criminal record, Hinchcliff said.
Regarding the relationship between Deperno and Meluso, Hinchcliff said Deperno had supposedly been living with Meluso briefly, either renting or staying in Lucerne with an agreement to work for Meluso.
The sheriff’s office said at the time of Deperno’s arrest for the murder that the remains found off of Bartlett Springs Road were “strongly believed” to be those of Meluso and that arrangements were being made to confirm positive identification.
Asked about that process on Tuesday, sheriff’s office spokesperson Lauren Berlinn told Lake County News that they didn’t have a timeline for when that confirmation would be completed.
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