Share and Follow
Inset: Oved Bernardo Mendoza Argueta (Dallas County Jail). Background: The since-shuttered Chick-fil-A where Argueta killed two people in Irving, Tex. (Google Maps).
A Texas man has been sentenced to life imprisonment following a tragic incident at a Chick-fil-A, where he fatally shot two employees in front of his wife. This decision came after Oved Bernardo Mendoza Argueta, aged 38, admitted guilt to charges including murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, as announced by the Dallas District Attorney’s Office.
The court proceedings swiftly concluded with Judge Rocky Jones of the 203rd District Court imposing a life sentence for the murder charge. Additionally, Argueta received a 20-year sentence for the aggravated assault charges, with the terms to be served consecutively. This means that once the life term commences, it will be followed by the additional years for the assault charges.
The sentencing comes as a result of the tragic deaths of Patricia Portillo, 49, and Brayan Godoy, 31, along with injuries inflicted on a third employee during the incident. The punishment was delivered through an interpreter, reflecting the gravity of the crimes and their impact on the victims’ families.
In a statement, the district attorney’s office emphasized the importance of the verdict: “While no sentence can undo the profound loss suffered by these families, this resolution ensures accountability and underscores that acts of violence in our community will be met with serious consequences.”
“While no sentence can undo the profound loss suffered by these families, this resolution ensures accountability and underscores that acts of violence in our community will be met with serious consequences,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement.
The underlying incident occurred in June 2024 at the fast-food restaurant on North MacArthur Boulevard in Irving – a large city located some 13 miles west of Dallas and part of the Mid-Cities region in the sprawling Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
The Irving Police Department was called to the location in response to shots fired at 3:50 p.m. Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene of the crime by Irving Fire Department paramedics.
Just before 6 p.m. that same evening, law enforcement were on the lookout for Argueta, according to a post on X (formerly Twitter). He was seen fleeing the area driving a silver Honda sedan.
The defendant was taken into custody during the early morning hours the next day, the police department said in an update on Facebook.
One of the victims’ daughters read an impact statement during the sentencing hearing, according to the district attorney’s office.
The since-condemned man’s wife worked at the Chick-fil-A where the shooting took place and was present at work on the day in question, watching her co-workers die at her husband’s hands. The killer’s wife would go on to provide police with his identity, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by The Dallas Morning News.
To date, law enforcement has not publicly speculated about a motive for the violence. Argueta is a Salvadoran national, and an immigration hold was placed on him immediately after his arrest.
In comments to CBS News, the mother of an employee who survived the shooting offered some insight into the incident.
“He just keeps telling me he’s okay,” she said. “But I don’t know what’s going on in his head right now. As a mother…I mean, you don’t even have to be a mother, just as a human being…It is scary. Are we not able to go out and work? Can we not go out and have a decent meal at a restaurant?”
As part of his plea agreement, Argueta waived the right to an appeal. The specific Chick-fil-A location remains closed as of this writing.