Who is Steven Mendez? Wiki, Biography, Age, NYC teen allegedly murdered

Mendez, who is accused of being the trigger for Koma’s death, was free to allegedly kill after pleading guilty in a case of assault, robbery, and possession of weapons in 2020, the sources said. In May, Acting Bronx Supreme Court Justice Denis Boyle granted Mendez parole, despite prosecutors’ objections to sending the teen to jail. Mendez already had at least three other arrests on his record, including a weapons charge in 2019 for pointing a gun at his own mother.

Steven Mendez Age

Steven Mendez is 17 years old.

Steven Mendez NYC teen allegedly murdered

Now, Koma’s grieving parents are demanding justice in light of information that their son’s alleged killer was on probation at the time. “This judge let him go, but I’m not going to let him go,” Haja Kaira, the victim’s mother, told The Post through tears on Monday. “My son will receive justice. This is crazy.” She continued, “He doesn’t deserve to be out there. A murderer is a murderer. He will do it again. ”

Koma’s father, Amar Bully Koma, called Boyle’s decision “insane.” “What’s wrong with this judge?” he said. “If this was the judge’s son, or his nephew or a relative, I would not let him go. The city, the mayor. If this was their son, they wouldn’t let him go. They don’t care about us. We have no rights. ”

Mendez was indicted last year on charges of first-degree assault, first-degree robbery, and possession of weapons for a felony stemming from an armed robbery on July 17, 2020, in the Bronx. The victim, in that case, was shot in the leg, prosecutors and judicial officials confirmed. Mendez, who was 16 at the time of the crime and was tried as a “juvenile delinquent,” pleaded guilty and was placed in an unsecured facility pending sentencing, the state’s Office of Court Administration said.

In May, Boyle opted to release the teenager citing a report that Mendez was “fully engaged” and doing well in school. The judge found that a state prison sentence at that time in his life for a crime committed as an accessory at the age of 16 was not justified and consequently he was sentenced as ME to five years of probation,” explained the Monday the OCA spokesman, Lucian Chalfen. .

Under state law, defendants between the ages of 16 and 19 can be granted “juvenile delinquent” status, reducing their sentences and sealing their criminal record. A spokesman for the Bronx District Attorney, Darcel Clark, said the judge’s decision came “on our objections” and said prosecutors wanted a sentence of 1 1/3 to 4 years, the maximum allowed for a convicted juvenile offender. for a felony.

Back on the streets, sources said that Méndez, a well-known gang member, was with other gang members on Oct. 24 when they went out to seek revenge for the beating of one of their own by a rival gang, the sources said. Enraged criminals encountered Koma on Ryer Avenue in Fordham Heights and shot him, with Mendez allegedly pulling the trigger of the .357 caliber pistol, law enforcement sources said.

Sources said the group may have mistaken Koma for a rival gang member or was simply looking for blood, but they insisted the victim was “a completely innocent child.” Kaira, Koma’s heartbroken mother, criticized the judge’s decision to remove Méndez. “You have to do the job,” he said. “You have to keep us safe. If one part of the system doesn’t work, none of it works. Not too much gun violence everywhere. ”

Mendez was still on probation for the 2020 case when he was arrested Friday, authorities said. “When they catch a boy with a gun and he comes home before dinner, they are sending an armed version of that boy out onto the street,” the source said. “They are more dangerous.” An attorney for the Méndez Legal Aid Society did not respond to a request for comment Monday. A spokesman for the city’s Probation Department said state law “legally prohibits” them from providing information on juvenile delinquency cases.

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