AUSTIN, Texas — Nearly two months after 18-year-old Texas State University freshman John Mendoza Jr. was shot and killed by a Brazoria County sheriff’s deputy in southeast Texas, his father says the family is still waiting for answers and wants criminal charges filed.
John Mendoza Sr. said he wants to see accountability in the case involving the deputy the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office says shot his son.
“Somebody should be charged. Somebody should be arrested,” Mendoza Sr. said. “It would at least show that there’s being movement in a positive direction with justice.”
According to the Mendoza family’s attorney, deputy Kevin Tippit pursued Mendoza’s car for about a mile to his father’s home in Lake Jackson during an attempted traffic stop, where Tippit fired the gunshot that killed him.
Attorney Charles Adams said Mendoza was unarmed and was with friends in the car.
Days later, Brazoria County Sheriff Bo Stallman announced Tippit had been fired for policy violations.
“My decision is entirely independent of the ongoing criminal investigation and should not be interpreted as a conclusion regarding criminal liability,” Stallman said at the time.
The Texas Rangers and the Brazoria County District Attorney are leading the investigation. Mendoza Sr. said he believes the process is moving too slowly.
“You know, as Americans, you we’re told to believe in justice and integrity and transparency. And we’ve gotten the exact opposite. We’ve gotten none of that,” he said.
Tom Hogan, an assistant law professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston and a former prosecutor, said the timeline is typical in officer-involved shootings.
“You generally have a of evidence. Interestingly, despite all that evidence, prosecutors across the nation often take longer to make decisions, and officer-involved shooting cases,” Hogan said.
Hogan said decisions about whether to file charges against officers in shootings by law enforcement can often take a year or longer.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Brazoria County Sheriff fires deputy who fatally shot Texas State freshman
CBS Austin requested an update on the investigation from the Texas Rangers and the Brazoria County District Attorney. We did not receive a response as of Friday evening.
“They can’t give me John back, you know, that’s all I care about,” Mendoza Sr. said. “You know, he didn’t deserve this. Nobody does. He doesn’t deserve what happened.”
Mendoza Jr. was expected to return to Texas State University next month for the start of his sophomore year.
“When we got to San Marcos, he was just like, ‘Man, dad, this is it,’” said his father. “There was something about Texas State that he definitely felt at home.”