Father gets prison in infant son’s death
A 23-year-old man has been sentenced to 16 to 54 years in prison for the 2010 beating death of his 3-month-old son.
Andrew Mendoza in December pleaded guilty to six counts of child abuse for the death of Angel Mendoza. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors dropped a murder charge.
Andrew Mendoza was sentenced Jan. 5 by District Judge Douglas Herndon.
According to court documents, Mendoza at first said his son's injuries were caused by a fall in the bathtub.
But doctors didn't believe him when the boy was first taken to University Medical Center with a skull fracture and a lacerated liver in February 2010. The boy also had adult-sized bite marks and bruises all over his body and widespread retinal hemorrhaging consistent with having been shaken.
Mendoza later admitted to investigators he physically abused the boy, authorities said.
Angel Mendoza died March 18, 2010, according to the Clark County coroner's office.
Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.
