Man Fired Shots In Self-Defense Jury Told Youth Was Convinced Victims Would Shoot First

Jose Mendoza was acting in self-defense when he fired 10 bullets at a carload of teenagers in the Spokane Valley last summer, his lawyer told a jury Wednesday.

Mendoza, 21, didn’t know the three victims who were hit by bullets from his 9mm handgun. He pulled the trigger because he was convinced one of the youths in the car would shoot him first, said defense attorney Greg Sypolt.

“Based upon everything Jose Mendoza knew, and based upon everything Jose Mendoza saw that evening, he was justifiably using his right to defend himself,” Sypolt said.

Mendoza’s trial began Wednesday in Superior Court. He is charged with five counts of attempted murder because there were two other victims in the car who were not hurt. If convicted, Mendoza could face a life prison sentence.

Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Dave Hearrean scoffed at Sypolt’s self-defense theory.

“These (victims) had no guns,” he told jurors in his opening statement. “They didn’t do anything except duck for their lives.”

The Aug. 20 shooting was sparked by an argument between Mendoza’s friend, Jeremy Johnson, and Torrey Lowery, who was driving the victims’ car. Mendoza was with Johnson “for back-up” in case a fight broke out later that night, Sypolt said.

They spotted Lowery’s car near the Albertsons store on Argonne Road and Johnson drove up behind it. Mendoza thought he saw Lowery reach for a weapon, Sypolt said, because Johnson had mentioned before that Lowery carried a gun.

“Jose’s perception is … he sees movement and his instinct is to shoot,” Sypolt said.

Hearrean, however, said the location of the bullet holes that pierced the victims’ car prove Mendoza started shooting “before he even got up to the vehicle.

“Jose Mendoza emptied his gun and went right on by,” Hearrean said. Later, he told sheriff’s detectives he “had to cap them before they capped him,” the prosecutor added.

Johnson, 18, pleaded guilty earlier this year to attempted murder and attempted assault for his part in the drive-by. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison for firing one shot at the victims’ car before his gun jammed.

Johnson will testify for the prosecution in Mendoza’s trial along with Robert DeLao, 21, who also was in Johnson’s car but did not fire any shots.

, DataTimes