Two men will spend the rest of their lives in prison for murdering Philadelphia Police Sgt. Richard Mendez during a confrontation at a Philadelphia International Airport parking garage two years ago.
Yobranny Martinez-Fernández, 20, was sentenced to life in prison followed by 25 to 50 years while Hendrick Peña-Fernández, 23, was sentenced to life in prison, officials announced on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025.
“Nothing’s going to return my husband back to us but today justice was served,” Alexandra Carrero, Sgt. Mendez’s widow, said after the sentencing. “My husband was an amazing human being and he did not deserve to be shot in the back three times. Nobody deserves that. Especially not my husband. He was the love of my life. My soulmate. I have to live the rest of my life without him and I don’t even want to imagine it. I’m just taking it day by day.”
The sentencing occurred shortly after both men were found guilty of multiple offenses in Sgt. Mendez’s murder.
Martinez-Fernández was found guilty of the following:
- First, second and third-degree murder of Sgt. Richard Mendez
- First-degree murder of Law Enforcement Officer Sgt. Richard Mendez
- Conspiracy to commit robbery
- Robbery of a 2018 Dodge Charger
- Aggravated assault of Officer Raúl Ortíz
- Criminal use of a communication facility
- Theft by unlawful taking of a firearm
- Firearms not to be carried without a license
- Possession of an instrument of crime
- Third-degree murder of Jesús Hernán Madera Durán
- Theft by unlawful taking of a Dodge Durango
- Theft by unlawful taking of a Jeep Grand Cherokee
- Conspiracy to commit theft
Martinez-Fernández was found not guilty of the following:
- Assault of Law Enforcement Officer Raúl Ortíz
Peña-Fernández was found guilty of the following:
- Second-degree murder of Sgt. Richard Mendez
- Conspiracy to commit robbery
- Robbery of a 2018 Dodge Charger
- Theft by unlawful taking of a Jeep Grand Cherokee
- Conspiracy to commit theft
- Possession of an instrument of crime
Peña-Fernández was found not guilty of the following:
- Third-degree murder of Sgt. Richard Mendez
- Assault of Law Enforcement Officer Raúl Ortíz
- Aggravated assault of Raúl Ortíz
- Criminal use of a communication facility
- Theft by unlawful taking of a firearm
- Possession of an instrument of crime
“This was a nuanced verdict,” Assistant District Attorney Cydney Pope said. “They didn’t just go down the line and say, ‘You’re guilty of all of those charges.’ They went through and took their time, did the work, and evaluated what each defendant was guilty of and that is what this verdict shows.”
Mendez’s daughter, Mia Carrero, wore her father’s name tag close to her heart as the verdict was read.
“I was given his stuff after the fact,” she said. “A lot of it is something I need to hold dear to myself and this was the badge that he was wearing that night. That’s just kind of a reminder of what happened, how it has affected me and how I’ll grow from it for sure. But how much I miss my dad.”
The murder of Sgt. Richard Mendez
Deadly confrontation at PHL parking garage
On Oct. 12, 2023, at 11 p.m., Officer Richard Mendez and Officer Raúl Ortíz arrived at a parking garage for terminals D and E at the Philadelphia International Airport to begin their shifts. Officials said the officers heard the sound of shattered glass and confronted four people who were breaking into a vehicle inside the parking garage.
During the confrontation, Mendez was shot multiple times in the upper torso while Ortíz was shot in the arm. Mendez later died from his injuries while Ortiz survived. Officer Mendez — who was posthumously promoted to sergeant — served in the department for 22 years and worked in the 25th District before moving to the Airport Unit. He is survived by a wife and daughter.
One of the suspects in the murder, 18-year-old Jesús Hernán Madera Durán of Camden, New Jersey, was also shot during the incident. The other three suspects, identified as Yobranny Martinez-Fernández, Alexander Batista-Polanco, and Hendrick Peña-Fernández, drove Durán in a stolen vehicle to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where they dropped him off, officials said. Durán was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after.
Prosecutors say the other three suspects eventually drove to Cranbury, New Jersey, where they burned the stolen vehicle in an effort to get rid of DNA evidence. All three were later arrested.
In addition to being charged in Officer Mendez’s murder, the three suspects were also part of a multi-state car theft ring in which they stole more than 40 vehicles across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York, investigators said.
The trial of Yobranny Martinez-Fernández and Hendrick Peña-Fernández
Jury selection in the murder trial of Yobranny Martinez-Fernández and Hendrick Peña-Fernández took place on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. Alexander Batista-Polanco had pleaded guilty to the murder charges only a few days prior.
Prosecutors — led by Assistant District Attorney Cydney Pope — said phone records and other evidence linked Martinez-Fernández and Peña-Fernández to the crime scene after Officer Mendez’s murder. During the trial’s opening statements, however, Peña-Fernández’s defense attorney said there was “very little evidence to no evidence” that their client was there or participated. Martinez-Fernández’s attorney also called into question the prosecution’s case against his client, stating, “There is no video of what happened,” in reference to the lack of cameras inside the airport parking garage on the night of the shooting.
During the trial, the jury watched surveillance video of two men – who prosecutors identified as Yobranny Martinez-Fernández and Hendrick Peña-Fernández – pulling up to CHOP in the stolen vehicle and dropping off Jesús Hernán Madera Durán.
The jury also heard from several witnesses, including officers who were assigned to the airport and were first on scene following the shooting.
Pope also played audio of Officer Ortiz’s 911 call.
“Two officers down,” Ortiz shouts in the recording. “I’m shot in the arm! He’s bleeding profusely. Hurry. Oh my God.”
Ortiz then repeatedly screams Officer Mendez’s name and pleads for help in the recording.
Batista-Polanco also took the stand during the trial alongside a translator. He claimed that the goal the night of Sgt. Mendez’s murder was to find and steal Jeeps and Dodge Durangos for money and that they all wore masks and gloves to avoid leaving a DNA trail.
One of the experts who testified also said that DNA belonging to both defendants was found on several objects and vehicles connected to the case, including a glove and a bullet.
A homicide detective also said that an analysis of cellphone data showed the two defendants’ phones were at the airport at the time of the shooting. A detective also presented a compilation of surveillance video that matched cellphone tracking data that investigators said belonged to the suspects, connecting key locations in the case.
The cellphone data also placed the defendants at CHOP when Madera Durán was dropped off, and a few hours later in Cranbury, New Jersey, around the time the stolen vehicle was set on fire, investigators said.
A detective also showed the jury a link to an NBC10 article on the shooting that investigators said Martinez-Fernández sent to his girlfriend hours after it happened and a still image of him outside a phone store the next day where he got a new phone and number.
Both defense teams attempted to cast doubt that their clients were present at the time of the shooting with Martinez-Fernández’s attorney asking the detective, “It’s a possibility that somebody else was using his phone number?”
To which the detective replied, “It’s a possibility.”
During cross examination, Martinez-Fernández’s attorney asked several witnesses if they ever saw his client. All of them said no.
Peña-Fernández’s attorney argued during cross examination that none of the phone data presented to the jury connected his client to the other suspects before the shooting.
The defense also argued that the key testimony from Batista-Polanco was false and that there was no video evidence or a witness who could physically place either defendant at the scene.
“Somebody is lying. And that is Alexander Batista-Polanco,” defense attorney Earl Kauffman said.
The defense also argued that the perpetrators did not know the men who confronted them during the robbery were police officers. Attorneys for Peña-Fernández asked the judge to dismiss the charges of murder, conspiracy and aggravated assault, claiming their client wasn’t the primary offender. The judge denied the request, however.
Jury deliberations, verdict and sentencing
Jury deliberations began on Wednesday, Nov. 19. During the deliberations, two jurors were replaced. One of the jurors had a medical emergency while the second juror was excused for unknown reasons.
On Monday, Nov. 24, the fourth day of deliberations, the jury reached a verdict. Martinez-Fernández was found guilty of first-degree murder and other related offenses while Peña-Fernández was found guilty of second-degree murder and other related offenses.
Shortly after the verdict, Martinez-Fernández was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole followed by 25 to 50 years while Peña-Fernández was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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