Man is held in 2020 slaying

By Terry Murry on Friday, October 22nd, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

HERMISTON – The man who is charged in the death of Jesus Eli Lopez of Hermiston in June 2020 is now in Umatilla County Jail. Umatilla County District Attorney Dan Primus said that Keith Michael Beridon, 26, was extradited from another state.

In September, Beridon had a ‘proof is evident, presumption is strong’ hearing in Sixth Circuit Court. Those hearings are often held in major crime cases to hold a suspect without bail. Primus said it was determined in that hearing that presumption is strong.

“The court maintained the no bail,” he said. “Mr. Beridon will remain in custody until this case is concluded. No opportunity for release. No way for him to bail out.”

Beridon is charged with murder in the second-degree, three counts of felony unlawful use of a weapon, and being a felon in possession of a weapon.

Lopez’s body was found in the garage of his family’s home on June 9, 2020. In the beginning, detectives said they had no immediate indicators of the motive behind the killing or a possible suspect.

By September 2020, that had changed. Lt. Randy Studebaker said a suspect had been identified and was in custody out of state on an unrelated matter. Beridon was extradited to Umatilla County and was arraigned in July.

HPD stated in its annual report that the case was solved by dogged determination, high-tech investigative methods, and cutting-edge forensic techniques.

“We had a lot of assistance in this case from the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office, the Oregon State Police, and the Stanfield Police Department,” Studebaker said at the time. “It was a great team effort.”