READING, Pa. – A man who evaded arrest for more than two decades before his capture in Mexico three years ago has plead “open” to a deadly 1998 shooting in Reading.
Berks County District Attorney John Adams says Israel Mendoza was sentenced on Thursday to 17 to 34 years, consecutive to a 2024 federal sentence of seven years for trafficking illegal drugs in Connecticut. The decision came after Mendoza plead “open,” which is a guilty plea but allows the judge to decide the sentence.
Authorities say Mendoza pulled the trigger in a drive-by shooting on August 2, 1998, near Front and Elm streets, killing then 24-year-old Michelle Lutz.
Joshua Ramirez and Placido Rodriguez both served at least 10 years related to the crime. They both testified that Mendoza was in the car at the time of the shooting, and Ramirez previously testified that Mendoza was one of two people that had a gun with them.
Ramirez and Rodriguez say they were part of a gang and were going to “take care of a problem” they had with someone from a rival gang. Both say Lutz wasn’t the intended target.
U.S. Marshals picked up Mendoza in 2023 in Mexico.