2022-04-30

#street/I40/2800-block/2805

# Killing of Marisela Mendoza

Date: April 30, 2022
Location: Texas Roadhouse parking lot, 2800 block of I-40 West, Amarillo, Texas
Case number: 22-507025 (Amarillo Police Department)
Victim: Marisela Mendoza, 23
Perpetrator: Mario Alberto Rodriquez (b. March 27, 1992), 30 at time of offense, of Oklahoma
Charge: Murder
Outcome: Pleaded guilty October 6, 2025; sentenced to 60 years in prison

Background

Mario Alberto Rodriquez and Marisela Mendoza were in a relationship but were not residents of Amarillo; they had traveled to the city separately. At the time of the killing, Rodriquez was already facing unrelated charges in Oklahoma, filed in 2021, for child neglect and domestic abuse — assault and battery in the presence of a child.

The shooting

On the evening of Saturday, April 30, 2022, at approximately 8:27–8:30 p.m., Amarillo police were dispatched to the parking lot of a Texas Roadhouse restaurant in the 2800 block of I-40 West after reports of shots fired

According to police and court records, Rodriquez and Mendoza got into an argument in the parking lot. Surveillance video reviewed by investigators showed Rodriquez arguing with Mendoza, who was seated in the passenger side of a Toyota Avalon; he reached into the car and struck her before firing multiple shots into the passenger side of the vehicle. Mendoza's sister reportedly witnessed the shooting.

Mendoza was found on the ground outside the passenger side of the vehicle with gunshot wounds to the right side of her body and back. She was transported by American Medical Response (AMR) to an area hospital, where she died of her injuries.

Police's initial, preliminary release described the shooter firing into a car and fleeing on foot toward the south in a pickup truck; a follow-up release corrected this, stating Rodriquez instead fled the scene in a gray Dodge Charger — with two young girls, ages five and eight, believed to be in the vehicle. It was not confirmed whether the children were Rodriquez's; they were not harmed.

Witness account

Cathlina King was having dinner with her children at a table beside a window overlooking the parking lot when the shooting occurred. She and her children did not hear the gunfire over the noise inside the restaurant but saw the aftermath immediately afterward and recorded video of the scene through the blinds. She later wrote on Facebook: "I came to eat at Texas Roadhouse with the kids and someone was just shot in the parking lot right outside the window where we are sitting," and told ABC 7 that "It was scary at first because a bullet could have easily come through a window." She added, "This isn't the Amarillo I moved to... Maybe we all need to start carrying protection" (ABC 7 Amarillo; People).

AMBER Alert and arrest

After identifying Rodriquez as the suspect, Amarillo police issued an AMBER Alert and regional broadcasts for the two young girls believed to have been abducted by him. The alert was canceled around 3:30 a.m. after Rodriquez was located and arrested in Hereford, Texas, roughly 45 miles southwest of Amarillo

A murder warrant was obtained for Rodriquez, and he was booked into jail in Hereford. The case was investigated by the Amarillo Police Department Homicide Unit

Legal proceedings

Rodriquez was charged with murder in Potter County, Texas. On October 6, 2025, he pleaded guilty to one count of murder. Judge Steven Denny sentenced him the same day to 60 years in prison (People; ABC 7 Amarillo). The guilty plea resolved the case ahead of a trial that had been scheduled for 2026.

Separately, Rodriquez's 2021 Oklahoma charges of child neglect and domestic abuse (assault and battery in the presence of a child) were dismissed with costs in 2025, according to court dockets reviewed by People.

Timeline

References

• Amarillo Police Department media release, via NewsChannel 10
• NewsChannel 10 — sentencing report[newschannel10]
• ABC 7 Amarillo — sentencing report[abc7amarillo]
• ABC 7 Amarillo — AMBER Alert report[abc7amarillo]
• People — sentencing feature[people]