Inset: Adrian Mendoza (Dallas Police Department). Background: The area near where Mendoza allegedly stabbed his father to death in east Dallas, Texas (Google Maps).
Authorities in Texas say a Dallas man has been jailed after allegedly killing his father as the older man slept.
Police identified the suspect as 29-year-old Adrian Mendoza, who is charged with murder in the death of his father, Samuel Mendoza. Officials have not yet released the victim’s age, according to the Dallas Police Department.
Investigators said the killing happened Wednesday morning at an apartment on Peavy Road in far east Dallas. According to police, Adrian Mendoza called 911 shortly after 7 a.m. and told dispatchers he had stabbed his father.
When officers arrived at the apartment, they encountered Mendoza, took him into custody, and later transported him to Dallas Police Headquarters for questioning, according to an arrest affidavit cited by CBS News.
Inside the apartment, officers found the victim, who was later pronounced dead at the scene by Dallas Fire-Rescue, police said in a department press release issued Wednesday.
According to the affidavit, Samuel Mendoza was found on an air mattress with multiple stab wounds to the head and neck. Investigators also recovered what they believe was the weapon used in the attack: a large combat-style knife in a sheath that was sitting on a table and appeared to have blood on it, the charging document states.
After being read his Miranda rights, the defendant agreed to speak with detectives, police said. During his custodial interview, Adrian Mendoza admitted to stabbing Samuel Mendoza at least four times while he was asleep, according to the affidavit.
When asked why he committed the fatal stabbing, Adrian Mendoza allegedly said he believed his father was “killing people and hurting kids,” according to the charging document. Police, however, say the defendant did not provide any evidence to support this claim.
Adrian Mendoza also told police he was going to use whatever method he could in order to “stop his existence,” the affidavit says.
When pressed about the allegations against his father and asked why he did not call police to report those beliefs, the defendant allegedly said he “was following what he learned in Duolingo.”
Adrian Mendoza is being detained in the Dallas County Jail on $250,000 bond, according to records reviewed by Law&Crime.
