Convicted of killing his wife, her mom in 2006
BY PAT GILLESPIE
pgillespie@news-press.com
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Juan Mendez spoke directly to his former uncle-in-law in court Monday.
John Carlson didn’t like what he heard and stood as if to stare down the man who was convicted of killing his sister and niece in Lehigh Acres 3 1/2 years ago.
But Carlson got what he wanted and what Mendez fought against — two consecutive life sentences for the murders of Lorena Stone and Whitney Mendez.
Juan Mendez, 31, was sentenced by Lee Circuit Judge Mark Steinbeck three months after a jury found him guilty of two second-degree murder counts.
Carlson was the first to speak to the judge and others in the courtroom. He said Javon Mendez, Juan and Whitney’s son, has suffered because he will grow up without either parent.
Juan Mendez later stood to talk and at first spoke directly to Carlson, who was sitting in the gallery by then.
“To the brother, John, don’t you ever use my son as a coverup,” he said. “First of all, I probably know your sister more than you have.”
Carlson stood as family members tried to get him to sit.
“You need to stop talking to me, is what you need to do,” Carlson shot back at Juan Mendez as deputies swooped in to try to maintain order.
The exchange and talk of lengthy prison sentences also caused deputies to escort a Mendez supporter out of the courtroom after she began swearing loudly and yelling at a deputy to keep his hands off her.
Mendez and several of his supporters begged the judge for mercy, saying he was unfairly convicted of the charges.
“All I ask, do not let this end,” Mendez said. “Let it continue and let them find whoever committed those crimes because it was not me.”
Mendez’s relatives said repeatedly that Mendez, whom they described as loving and caring, would never have harmed his wife and mother-in-law.
“He was convicted before he even went in there,” said his father, Juan Mendez Sr. “I did not see any justice, your honor.”
The victims’ family said Mendez should be punished.
“For everything we do, there is a price to pay. If you’re not willing to pay that price, don’t do it,” said Carol Orr, Carlson’s sister. “What happened to them shouldn’t be allowed to happen to anybody, ever.”
Mendez was convicted of going to a duplex at 4968 24th St. SW on July 22, 2006, and stabbing Whitney and her mother.
Javon, who was 2 at the time, was found dehydrated and sitting in a high chair outside the home where his mother and grandmother were killed.
According to testimony at trial, Mendez was upset that his estranged wife was trying to get custody of their son.
DNA evidence didn’t conclusively link Mendez to the murder weapons, defense attorneys argued, and they slammed the investigation, citing holes in the case.
The prosecution banked its case on two of Whitney Mendez’s co-workers, who testified that they received phone calls from her the night of the murders. In one of the phone calls, a witness heard Whitney Mendez mention that she had a restraining order against the intruder, who wasn’t allowed to be there. Weeks before the murders, she took out a protective order against Juan Mendez.
Juan Mendez is expected to appeal the convictions, the result of a back-and-forth, weeklong trial in November.
Mendez’s attorney, Gary Bass, asked for 40 years in prison, but he expected the life sentences.
“The sentence is irrelevant if the person is innocent,” Bass said. “It doesn’t matter if he got six years, 60 years or 600 years.”
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