LAKE JACKSON, TEXAS – There are growing calls for accountability after a Brazoria County deputy shot and killed 18-year-old John Mendoza Jr. early Monday in his father’s garage.
It happened just after midnight on Indian Warrior Trial after the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office said a deputy tried to pull over a driver near FM 2004 and This Way Street but the driver wouldn’t stop.
“He was my heart,” Mendoza’s father told KPRC 2 News. “He had such a bright future ahead of him.”
Mendoza had just finished his freshman year at Texas State University and had been home for about two weeks for summer break, according to family members.
He comes from a family that has a law enforcement background, was a Lake Jackson-area high school football star, and didn’t have a history of trouble, according to the family attorney Charles Adams.
“It is my understanding that all three young men had raised their hands. There was no effort to flee. There is no further movement, but there also was no instruction heard by the young men, right? It’s just an immediate walk-up execution," Adams said. “It is my understanding that the deputy immediately stated that he messed up, possibly using some other language.”
Initial scanner traffic in Brazoria County indicated it was an “accidental discharge,” and the teen had been shot in the shoulder, “through the heart while seated in his car,” according to Adams.
According to BCSO, Mendoza fled from the deputy who attempted to pull him over. The department hasn’t said what specifically initiated the traffic stop, and it hasn’t provided the deputy’s identity.
When Mendoza arrived in his father’s garage, which is just a few minutes away from where BCSO says the traffic stop attempt started, Adams said the deputy shot him through a rolled-up driver-side window.
Prior to the stop, Adams said Mendoza had been at a park with friends playing basketball and walking a track. His family said Mendoza had known the friends since kindergarten.
At the park, Adams said a deputy pulled up and started watching them.
“They felt like they were being stalked so they decided to leave. They got in his vehicle and began driving away. Shortly thereafter, the officer chirped his lights behind them. It’s my understanding Mr. Mendoza got scared and wanted to just get home to his father,” Adams said.
The Texas Rangers are now investigating for possible criminal charges, and a Texas DPS spokesperson said all findings will be presented to the Brazoria County District Attorney’s Office.
DA Tom Selleck didn’t respond to a request for comment Monday.
CLEAT, a state law enforcement union, had an attorney assisting the deputy on Monday, according to a post on X, but the association didn’t issue a statement about the incident.
“Right now, my only function here is to try to steward this for the family to ensure that there is accountability for what is a murder,” Adams, a former police officer, said. “Failing to yield and pull over for police is a crime. It is not a crime for which you can be murdered for. And I don’t use that lightly.”
The deputy has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard practice, according to BCSO.
“We want justice. We just want to know what happened. No kid is perfect, but nobody deserves this,” Mendoza’s great aunt Glenda said. “He’s a good kid, he was raised well in a good neighborhood. He was surrounded by love and a lot of advice, and we can’t comprehend why this happened.”