Loved ones look for motive in shooting victim’s death

Rebecca Goehner says it was an argument with a friend at the Casa Azteca Apartments in Desert Hot Springs that took a sudden turn for the worse when a man she didn’t know, 36-year-old La Von Meyers, got involved.

“He stuck his gun into an argument that had nothing to do with him,” she said.

Goehner said Meyers pulled out a gun and when she ran to the door to leave the apartment, he stopped her.

“He grabbed me, pulled me down with him. That’s when Ron came in the door. Ron told him to leave me alone, and without hesitating, he turned and shot him four times. Three bullets hit him,” said Goehner.

Investigators say Meyers shot and killed 46-year-old Ron Locke on June 29. He turned himself in to police that same night. He pleaded not guilty last week to a murder charge.

“Angry, a lot of anger. He didn’t even know him. ‘Who is he? Where did he come from?'” said Locke’s wife, Jerriann Lee.

Locke also left behind his 12-year-old son Billy.

“Bill was Ron’s everything. His family, that’s all he cared about,” said Locke’s wife.

Goehner’s daughter Tiffany calls Locke a hero.

“I’m thankful he did it because he saved my mom. But I feel for Billy because he doesn’t have a dad,” she said.

Goehner wishes she could’ve changed the outcome.

“He always told me, ‘Rebecca, I’d do anything for you.’ I guess he really meant it,” she said.

To help cover the funeral costs, Locke’s friends and family will host a car wash at Round Table Pizza on Date Palm Drive in Cathedral City, Friday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.