Jury finds Clovis woman not guilty in murder case

A Clovis woman accused of killing a man she said was a stalker was found not guilty of murder Friday by a Clovis jury.

Alexandra Romero told police she shot Javier Jimenez in August 2023 after she found him trespassing on her property. She said Jimenez had left her death threats on her phone and “she was in fear of her and her children’s safety” when she shot him.

Authorities initially charged her with voluntary manslaughter, then upgraded the charge to murder after prosecutors said they found “inconsistencies” with her initial statement about what happened.

Her jury trial lasted five days. Jurors needed about 90 minutes to deliver the not-guilty verdict, defense attorney Matt Chandler said.

“We believe this was a clear case of self-defense and are grateful the jury agreed,” Chandler told The News on Friday night.

“We proved at trial that Alexandra was stalked and threatened repeatedly and did everything she could to protect herself, including making reports to police and obtaining an order of protection.

“Unfortunately, when Javier Jimenez broke into her house, she was left with no choice but to defend herself and her family.”

Prosecutor Brian Stover said the state was unable to present jurors “the criminal history and nature of the defendant.”

“This is proper and correct under our juris prudence,” Stover continued, “but it certainly went into the state’s decision to charge her with first-degree murder.”

In court records, prosecutors alleged inconsistency in Romero’s account of what happened involved her location in the house when she shot Jiminez, who was allegedly sitting on a bed. She said she shot him just inside her back door, records show.

“(S)tanding at the back door, you cannot see inside the bedroom where Javier was shot,” prosecutors alleged in court documents.

Stover said he respects the jury’s decision.

“This was a very hard case for them because there were no clean hands,” he said.

Romero was jailed for about seven months, then released on house arrest in August.

“She has been released (from custody) and is going home to be with her children,” Chandler said Friday night.