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A casual boys’ night out took a dramatic turn when a man allegedly stabbed his friend following a dispute over a spilled beer.
On January 26, Moises Israel Mendoza, 19, found himself in police custody in Miami, Florida, after tensions escalated earlier in the evening when a friend inadvertently spilled beer on his cellphone. Court documents reveal that Mendoza faces charges of attempted second-degree murder with a deadly weapon and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. He has pleaded not guilty to these charges, according to Oxygen.
The victim, whose identity remains undisclosed, recounted his version of events to police while receiving treatment at Jackson Memorial Hospital. He explained that he, Mendoza, and other friends had gone fishing the day before the incident, as stated in an arrest affidavit obtained by Oxygen.
Following their fishing trip, the group gathered at a friend’s house to enjoy their catch. The victim reported that while trying to play a song on Mendoza’s phone, he accidentally spilled beer on it, which sparked a heated verbal exchange.
As per the affidavit, a friend offered to drive the victim home, with Mendoza accompanying them. Another argument flared up during the car ride. Before exiting the vehicle, the victim admitted to tossing the remaining beer from a bottle toward Mendoza, which allegedly provoked Mendoza to “attack” him.
The victim told police that he that he didn’t see a knife, but when he saw that he was bleeding profusely, per the document, he exited the car and flagged down an officer for help. Officers noted in the affidavit that they observed blood on the car seats.
Police interviewed the driver, who said in the affidavit that the victim and Mendoza argued in the car and that he saw the victim throwing beer at Mendoza. The driver said he witnessed the victim and Mendoza “fighting” inside the car, per the document, and saw the victim bleeding, however they said they only realized that Mendoza was holding a knife after the victim had left the car.
The driver claimed in the document that they dropped off Mendoza at his home and saw him throw the knife and his shirt inside a sidewalk garbage can.
Mendoza told detectives, as cited in the affidavit, that his friend “intentionally” poured beer on his phone which started an argument. Mendoza also told police in the document that, in the car, the victim had thrown a beer bottle at his face. Feeling frustrated, Mendoza told police in the document, he stabbed the victim with a kitchen knife, which he claimed to have found in the friend’s car.
Mendoza told police that he concealed the knife when he got into the car, because “he had already planned to stab the victim” if the victim decided to escalate the previous argument.
An attorney for Mendoza declined to comment when asked by Oxygen.