Post by Scumhunter on Nov 9, 2021 6:33:36 GMT -5
(Above photo credit: grandforksherald.com via Grand Forks County Corrections)
From the Grand Forks Herald (grandforksherald.com):
A Texas man has been charged for the deaths of two Grand Forks teenagers earlier this year.
According to charging documents, Valentin Mendoza IV, 20, told his girlfriend he intended to kill himself about three minutes before he drove head-on into a vehicle in Polk County in June, killing the two boys inside.
Mendoza, of Crystal City, Texas, now is charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide. A nationwide warrant has been issued for his arrest, and East Grand Forks Police Chief Michael Hedlund said that as of Monday afternoon, Oct. 25, Mendoza is not in custody anywhere.
Very little is known at this time about Mendoza's possible location, Hedlund said, noting that the nationwide warrant is "significant."
"(Nationwide warrants) certainly are not a common thing," he said. "But we don’t have crimes to that level either very commonly.
According to charging documents, police were dispatched to a two-vehicle collision one mile north of East Grand Forks on County Road 220 at 3:08 a.m. on June 17. Upon arriving at the scene, officers found Mendoza's 2004 Ford Ranger pickup tipped on its side with the speedometer locked at 75 mph, although the speed limit on that stretch of road is 45 mph. At some point, Mendoza had been able to climb out of the vehicle, and he was transported to Altru Hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to a Minnesota State Patrol report.
Officers also found a 2007 GMC Envoy with severe damage on the front driver's side and the speedometer locked at 65 mph. The driver, later identified as Ethan David Carsen, 17, of Grand Forks, had severe injuries, according to court documents, and his passenger, 16-year-old Damien Powell of Grand Forks, did not appear to be breathing. Both boys were transported to Altru.
Powell was removed from life support and died on June 23, and Carsen died on June 27.
Mendoza's mother told investigators that he recently had been released from prison, and although he had bipolar disorder and a history of making suicidal comments she was not aware of any he had made recently, according to court documents.
Documents also state that Mendoza's girlfriend told investigators that he sent her a message via the Snapchat social media app at 3:05 a.m. indicating that he planned to kill himself. It was three minutes before police were dispatched to the collision.
An investigation later showed that Mendoza crossed over the center line before striking the GMC Envoy. There were no brake marks leading up to the scene of the crash. The Herald previously reported that both boys were wearing seatbelts, while Mendoza was not.
The Polk County State's Attorney's Office did not return a call seeking comment on Monday afternoon, Oct. 25.
www.grandforksherald.com/news/crime-and-courts/7253556-Warrant-issued-for-Texas-man-charged-for-deaths-of-two-Grand-Forks-teens
Additional article on case: 6park.news/minnesota/parents-of-son-killed-by-suspected-suicide-driver-say-coward-must-be-caught-for-closure.html
Thoughts? As far as I can tell, Mendoza is still at large as of today's posting date (November 9th, 2021), since this has become a high profile case in the local area. Ethan Carsen's parents were interviewed just two days ago, calling Mendoza a coward and that two teenage boys didn't deserve to lose their lives because he someone was having a bad day. And I must say I agree based on what's alleged. No one has more sympathy for mental health issues than me, but one thing that drives me crazy of all these cases we see where a fugitive kills someone, and then commits suicide later, and it's like why didn't you do that before you took someone with you? Based on what's alleged, Mendoza was on a suicide mission and didn't care who was in his way that fateful night.
Finally, articles don't give a number or who to send tips to if you have any information on Mendoza's whereabouts, but I'm assuming for now you can contact the Polk County Sheriff's Office (the one in Minnesota) since this tragedy happened in their jurisdiction:
www.co.polk.mn.us/221/Sheriffs-Office
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