Nathan Ojeda may be spending the rest of his life in prison after a jury found him guilty of murdering Anthony “AJ” Mendiola in cold blood on January 4 this year.
A jury of 12 in the Superior Court of Guam found that, beyond a reasonable doubt, Mr. Ojeda drove up to Mr. Mendiola’s home and shot the Agat resident to death.
Mr. Ojeda “mentioned to police that he was happy Mendiola died but denied shooting him,” according to the original charges against him.
“It was emotionally traumatizing for the families to re-live the cold-blooded murder of their father, brother and husband,” Douglas Moylan, the attorney general, said in a news release. “Justice was timely served today.”
This was the highest-profile criminal case Mr. Moylan’s office has prosecuted since he took office, which was just two days before the murder happened.
Mr. Ojeda’s defense played on instilling doubt that the gunshots from Mr. Ojeda led to Mr. Mendiola’s death. The defense’s theory of the case was that gunfire from Mr. Mendiola’s friend, who shot back at Mr. Ojeda in defense of Mendiola and himself, ricocheted and hit Mendiola, causing his death.
The jury did not buy the defense.
“The jury returned a verdict after only half a day’s (total) time deliberating,” Mr. Moylan said in his news release.
He will be seeking the maximum sentence of life imprisonment plus an additional 25 years for the special allegation of use of a firearm in the commission of the murder.
