Man pleads guilty to killing ex-fiancee as she worked as a waitress in a Roseville restaurant
A man on Tuesday pleaded guilty to first-degree murder after he entered a Roseville restaurant on a Monday afternoon in 2021 and shot his ex-fiancee dead in a brazen act of domestic violence.
Johnnie Jordan IV, of Citrus Heights, was convicted in Placer Superior Court for the murder Vita Joga, the 51-year-old woman who was gunned down while at work as a waitress at the House of Oliver restaurant.
Jordan, 51, entered the guilty plea Tuesday afternoon in front of Joga’s family, including her teenage daughter. They did not want to comment about the resolution in the case until after Jordan’s sentencing hearing next month.
Matthew Oliver, the restaurant’s owner, also attended Tuesday’s hearing. He said he was appreciative of the Placer County District Attorney’s Office “for pushing for justice, for getting a guilty plea, for keeping us from having to go through the trial and dig up memories and experience it.”
The deadly shooting was reported at 3:20 p.m. on June 21, 2021, at the well-known restaurant along Douglas Boulevard, between Roseville Parkway and Sierra College Boulevard.
The Roseville Police Department has said the suspect left the area in a vehicle. About two hours after the restaurant shooting, police announced the man they were looking for, later identified as Jordan, was taken into custody.
Prosecutors said Jordan drove himself to the South Placer Jail after the fatal shooting and turned himself in. He has remained in custody since then.
The trial for Jordan had been scheduled to begin Feb. 13. Judge Angus Saint-Evens told Jordan that his guilty plea means he will be formally sentenced on March 4 to 50 years to life in prison for the murder conviction.
Jordan’s murder case was put on hold last month after Jordan was arrested again after a jail assault.
Jordan will serve an additional 32 months in prison for committing battery on a custodial officer Jan. 20 at the Placer County Jail. Jordan also pleaded guilty Tuesday to that felony charge.
Sgt. David Smith, a spokesman for the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, has said Jordan injured the correctional officer in the South Placer Jail. Smith said the officer suffered a “minor facial contusion” and has recovered.
While stating the factual basis of the Jan. 20 jail assault, District Attorney Morgan Gire told the judge on Tuesday that Jordan punched the custodial officer who was trying to do their job. Jordan’s pending murder case was put on hold last month after he was arrested again in the jail assault.
Jordan was accused of domestic violence several weeks before the deadly shooting. On May 7, 2021, Jordan was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats and committing battery on or against a spouse. Jordan was released from custody May 10, 2021, but failed to appear in court for a scheduled hearing hours before he shot the waitress to death at the restaurant.
Joga had obtained a restraining order against Jordan. A May 10, 2021, court order instructed Jordan to stay away from his ex-fiancée.
Along with the murder charge, Jordan faced charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and making criminal threats, both felony charges; along with a misdemeanor charge of battery against a spouse or cohabitant. Those charges will be formally dismissed when he’s sentenced next month.
Oliver said memories of Joga and who she was are still vivid today, and they will continue to honor her legacy.
“Vita was such a bright light and brought joy into every situation,” Oliver said after Tuesday’s hearing. “She brought color to every experience and every encounter. And we still, to this day, we see her in life around us. We see her in the community around us, and we see her in her beautiful daughter.”
