Current:Home > FinanceEx-Philadelphia police officer sentenced to at least 8 years in shooting death of 12-year-old boy-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Ex-Philadelphia police officer sentenced to at least 8 years in shooting death of 12-year-old boy
View Date:2024-12-23 19:55:01
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A fired Philadelphia police officer who pleaded guilty to murder in the shooting of a fleeing 12-year-old boy was sentenced Monday to at least eight years in prison.
Edsaul Mendoza, a five-year veteran of the force who was fired a week after the shooting in 2022, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in April in the shooting of Thomas “T.J.” Siderio.
Mendoza said in court that he felt sorrow and regret just before he was sentenced to 8 to 20 years. He originally was charged with first- and third-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter but agreed to a plea deal. A message seeking comment was left with his attorney, and exact details of the sentencing provisions weren’t immediately available.
Prosecutors said the 12-year-old boy was on the ground and unarmed when Mendoza fired the fatal shot into his back. Police said the youth had first fired a shot at an unmarked police car, injuring one of four plainclothes officers inside.
The boy threw a gun down about 40 feet (12 meters) before he was shot and then either tripped or dropped to the ground, according to authorities.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said surveillance video contradicted some of the officer’s statements. That included Mendoza’s account that the boy pointed a gun at him and that he was standing in the street when he fired, rather than almost over him on the sidewalk, according to information prosecutors presented to a grand jury.
Four officers had been in an unmarked car, looking for a teenager they wanted to talk with about a firearm investigation, police have said. They saw Siderio and an unnamed 17-year-old and maneuvered the car around the block and next to them to initiate a stop.
Prosecutors said that almost at the same time the officers turned their red and blue lights on, a shot came through the back passenger window and ricocheted around the car. One officer was treated for injuries to his eye and face caused by broken glass.
Mendoza and another officer on the passenger side got out and fired one shot each, according to police. Mendoza then chased Siderio down the block, firing twice and striking the boy once in the back in what prosecutors say was “relatively close range.”
veryGood! (8)
Related
- American Idol’s Triston Harper, 16, Expecting a Baby With Wife Paris Reed
- Murdaugh Murders: See Bill Pullman Transform Into Alex Murdaugh in Lifetime's Sinister Movie
- Plans for Poland’s first nuclear power plant move ahead as US and Polish officials sign an agreement
- A 15-year-old girl has died after being stabbed in south London
- Kevin Costner Shares His Honest Reaction to John Dutton's Controversial Fate on Yellowstone
- Nebraska latest Republican state to expand Medicaid to cover postpartum care for low-income mothers
- Travis Kelce Reveals Family's Reaction to Taylor Swift's Ballsy NFL Appearance
- A Sudanese man is arrested in the UK after a migrant’s body was found on a beach in Calais
- Bev Priestman fired as Canada women’s soccer coach after review of Olympic drone scandal
- Anderson Cooper Details His Late Mom's Bats--t Crazy Idea to Be His Surrogate
Ranking
- The Army’s answer to a lack of recruits is a prep course to boost low scores. It’s working
- Bruce Springsteen postpones all 2023 tour dates until 2024 as he recovers from peptic ulcer disease
- Egyptian rights group says 73 supporters of a presidential challenger have been arrested
- 'Home Town' star Erin Napier shares shirtless photo of Ben Napier, cheering on his fitness journey
- Get Your Home Holiday-Ready & Decluttered With These Storage Solutions Starting at $14
- Chris Kaba shooting case drives London police to consider army backup as officers hand in gun licenses
- Leader of Spain’s conservatives loses his first bid to become prime minister and will try again
- Watch: Rare 'Dumbo' octopus seen during a deep-sea expedition
Recommendation
-
Investigation into Chinese hacking reveals ‘broad and significant’ spying effort, FBI says
-
A murder suspect mistakenly released from an Indianapolis jail was captured in Minnesota, police say
-
Canadian police won’t investigate doctor for sterilizing Indigenous woman
-
Montana man pleads not guilty to threatening to kill President Joe Biden, US Senator Jon Tester
-
Is Kyle Richards Finally Ready to File for Divorce From Mauricio Umansky? She Says...
-
See Scumbag Tom Sandoval Willingly Get Annihilated By His Haters and Celebrity Critics
-
Texas family sues mortuary for allegedly dropping body down flight of stairs
-
Let it snow? Winter predictions start as El Niño strengthens. Here's what forecasters say.