Man accused of killing estranged wife found incompetent to stand trial
A man accused of killing his estranged wife and injuring three others in an apartment shooting last year was found incompetent to stand trial on Wednesday.
Roidan Durruthy Mendoza, 39, was scheduled to go to trial in August on charges of murder, two counts of attempted murder, battery constituting domestic violence, battery, assault with a deadly weapon, child abuse, residential burglary and 11 counts of illegally discharging a firearm.
But after his defense attorney requested a competency evaluation, a psychiatrist found Durruthy Mendoza incompetent to face the charges.
“I have two incompetent findings, I’m noting a possible delusional disorder,” District Judge Christy Craig said during a court hearing Wednesday.
According to an arrest report, Durruthy Mendoza’s estranged wife, Marillorky Tamayo Cruz, had won custody of their two daughters the day she was killed. On Aug. 17, Durruthy Mendoza climbed onto the balcony of his estranged wife’s parents’ home and confronted her inside the apartment, at the Destinations Spring Valley apartment complex near Jones Boulevard and Flamingo Road.
Police said Durruthy Mendoza kicked down the door to the room where Tamayo Cruz was hiding and shot her three times. He then shot through the door to a room where Tamayo Cruz’s relatives were hiding, injuring her mother and brother-in-law.
When Durruthy Mendoza broke down the door where the family was barricaded, his teenage daughter stabbed him, cutting her hand in the process, according to the arrest report.
Durruthy Mendoza turned himself in at Metropolitan Police Department headquarters about 45 minutes after the shooting, telling police, “I killed my wife,” according to the arrest report.
According to the arrest report, Durruthy Mendoza had a history of violent threats. He was also accused of domestic violence in his wife’s divorce filings.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Durruthy Mendoza addressed the judge through a Spanish interpreter.
“This is a lie I don’t have any mental issues,” he said through the interpreter, later adding that he is “not going to plead guilty to something I didn’t do.”
The judge told him she had to rely on the doctor’s recommendations, and ordered him to be sent to a state psychiatric hospital for treatment.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.