Los Banos, CA (March 3, 3026) — On February 25, 2026, Xavier Dorado was sentenced in Merced County Superior Court to 82 years to life in prison following his conviction on two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
Dorado’s convictions stem from the 2021 shooting deaths of 19-year-old Tatyanna Lopez and her unborn daughter, Ayanna Lopez, in Merced. Prosecutors in the case were led by the Merced County District Attorney’s Office; specific details of the county’s charging documents confirmed the two murder counts were tied to Lopez and her unborn child, and the attempted murder count involved another victim who survived the incident.
According to court filings and early investigative reports, both Lopez and Dorado were from Los Banos but the shooting occurred in Merced, where the fatal incident was investigated by Merced law enforcement. The Lopez family had been in Merced at the time of the attack, and law enforcement sought Dorado following the April 2021 shooting, later identifying him as the suspect before his arrest and prosecution.
The sentence of 82 years to life was handed down consecutively to a term of life without parole, meaning Dorado will remain in custody for the remainder of his life with no eligibility for early release under current law.
