Inset: Oved Bernardo Mendoza Argueta (Dallas County Jail). Background: The since-shuttered Chick-fil-A where Argueta killed two people in Irving, Tex. (Google Maps).
A Texas man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the fatal shooting of two Chick-fil-A employees, an act committed in the presence of his wife.
Oved Bernardo Mendoza Argueta, aged 38, confessed to one count of murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, as per the Dallas District Attorney’s Office. This admission of guilt came to light on Wednesday.
In swift judicial proceedings, Argueta received a life sentence for the murder charge alongside a 20-year sentence for each count of aggravated assault. These sentences will run consecutively, as determined by Judge Rocky Jones of the 203rd District Court.
The court’s decision was communicated through an interpreter and follows the tragic deaths of Patricia Portillo, 49, and Brayan Godoy, 31. Additionally, a third employee suffered injuries during the incident.
The district attorney’s office emphasized in a statement that, although no penalty can truly compensate for the families’ loss, this outcome delivers justice and signals that violent acts within the community will face severe repercussions.
The tragic event unfolded in June 2024 at the Chick-fil-A located on North MacArthur Boulevard in Irving, a city approximately 13 miles west of Dallas, situated within the expansive Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
The Irving Police Department was called to the location in response to shots fired at 3:50 p.m. Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene of the crime by Irving Fire Department paramedics.
Just before 6 p.m. that same evening, law enforcement were on the lookout for Argueta, according to a post on X (formerly Twitter). He was seen fleeing the area driving a silver Honda sedan.
The defendant was taken into custody during the early morning hours the next day, the police department said in an update on Facebook.
One of the victims’ daughters read an impact statement during the sentencing hearing, according to the district attorney’s office.
The since-condemned man’s wife worked at the Chick-fil-A where the shooting took place and was present at work on the day in question, watching her co-workers die at her husband’s hands. The killer’s wife would go on to provide police with his identity, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by The Dallas Morning News.
To date, law enforcement has not publicly speculated about a motive for the violence. Argueta is a Salvadoran national, and an immigration hold was placed on him immediately after his arrest.
In comments to CBS News, the mother of an employee who survived the shooting offered some insight into the incident.
“He just keeps telling me he’s okay,” she said. “But I don’t know what’s going on in his head right now. As a mother…I mean, you don’t even have to be a mother, just as a human being…It is scary. Are we not able to go out and work? Can we not go out and have a decent meal at a restaurant?”
As part of his plea agreement, Argueta waived the right to an appeal. The specific Chick-fil-A location remains closed as of this writing.
