Couple re-enter not guilty pleas to murder of her mentally disabled brother
A woman and her boyfriend accused in the 2012 death of her 22-year-old developmentally disabled twin brother re-entered not guilty pleas today to murder.
Ines Patrisia Mendez, 33, and her boyfriend, Shanen Ryan Riley, 34, also re-entered not guilty pleas to one felony count of cruelty to an adult Tuesday morning at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, according to court records. Their next court appearance was set for March 7.
Following a preliminary hearing Jan. 23, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Otis Sterling ruled there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial for Mendez and Riley on the charges.
During the hearing, Mendez's attorney David Balahadia insisted that his client was not abusing her brother, who had the mental capacity of a 3-year-old, but was the one in her family who was actually taking care of him.
"The house itself, while potentially not the cleanest, there was no indication of trash on the floor, rats, insects. It appears that the bills had been paid,'' Balahadia said. "It appears, however, that Antonio Mendez would apparently have accidents and was in declining health."
Mendez's family, while curious about Antonio's whereabouts and care-taking, were the ones who "dumped the problem of Antonio to Mendez,'' Balahadia said, adding that Riley, though not doing the best job at care-taking at times, agreed to help her out.
Riley's attorney, Jose Rojo, said his client had no intent to kill in the matter.
"Even on the theory of implied malice, Mr. Riley did call a paramedic, Mr. Riley did try to save Antonio, and it was an unfortunate situation ... but at no time was there any evidence that Mr. Riley had an intent to kill Antonio,'' Rojo said.
Deputy District Attorney Jenna Barsamian said, however, that Riley acted recklessly when he punched Antonio in the chest.
She added that Mendez just let the abuse continue and that Antonio was not "dumped," but that Mendez left a note in the middle of the night indicating that she was going to take him and did not provide her family with access to her brother because she knew that his injuries would be seen.
Ines Mendez remains held at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning on $10 million bail, while Riley is being held at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta in lieu of $1 million bail.
According to a declaration in support of an arrest warrant, Antonio suffered severe injuries in the lead-up to his death, including broken bones, hemorrhaging and contusions to his internal organs. He had been living with the defendants for about a year at an apartment in Desert Hot Springs.
Riley called police on Aug. 7, 2012, stating that his girlfriend's brother was not breathing, the declaration states. Antonio was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, where he died about an hour later.
The cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma. According to the declaration, he weighed 109 pounds and had "visible bruises on his stomach, lacerations to his head, back and knees."
An autopsy revealed the victim had "fractured ribs, a severed pancreas and contusions to the back of the lower lobe of the left lung,'' as well as hemorrhaging "over his left eye, a laceration to the back of his scalp and (a) subdural hemorrhage to the left side of his head.''
Family members told investigators that Ines Mendez took in her brother in July 2011 without notifying anyone else in the family. They alleged he was "in good health and weighed over 200 pounds before Ines took him,'' then kept his whereabouts hidden from them and failed to notify them of his death, according to the declaration, which alleges that she received her brother's $850-per-month Social Security check.
A search of the defendants' Desert Hot Springs apartment revealed unsanitary conditions, according to court documents, which allege the victim's bedroom contained a twin bed mattress that was ``heavily soiled with apparent urine and feces stains,'' along with carpeting that was similarly soiled.
Antonio Mendez was also hospitalized two months prior to his death for a broken jaw, nose and chipped teeth, the declaration states. His sister allegedly told police that he had slipped in the shower and fell often due to clumsiness.
His jaw was wired shut due to the injury. Ines Mendez told police that she could only feed him protein drinks and vitamins as a result, accounting for his weight loss.
The Riverside County District Attorney's Office said in 2017 that a reevaluation of the evidence and follow-up interviews led to the defendants being charged with murder.
