An Oklahoma man has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for the fatal shooting of his 23-year-old girlfriend during an argument in the parking lot of a Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Amarillo. Mario Alberto Rodriquez, 33, pleaded guilty to murder before Judge Steve Denny in the 320th District Court on October 6.
The conviction stems from the April 30, 2022, killing of Marisela Mendoza, who was shot multiple times during a confrontation outside the popular restaurant. Amarillo police officers responded to reports of gunfire that evening and discovered Mendoza suffering from life-threatening wounds. She was rushed to a nearby hospital but later died from her injuries.
According to investigators, Rodriguez and Mendoza were in a relationship but did not live in Amarillo. They had traveled separately to meet at the restaurant parking lot, where a heated argument quickly escalated into violence. Witnesses told police that Rodriquez pulled out a gun and fired through a car window, striking Mendoza.
After the shooting, Rodriguez fled the scene in a 2018 Dodge Charger with Oklahoma license plates. Police soon learned that two young girls were in his vehicle at the time of the incident, prompting authorities to issue an AMBER Alert. Court records from Texas County, Oklahoma, later confirmed that Rodriquez was the father of the two children, ages five and eight, and had been granted primary custody following a 2018 divorce.
The AMBER Alert was cancelled hours later when law enforcement located Rodriguez and the children near Hereford, Texas. He was taken into custody without further incident, and the children were placed with relatives. Rodriquez was initially held in the Deaf Smith County Jail before being transferred to the Potter County Detention Center, where he remained without bond on a murder charge.
A grand jury formally indicted him in July 2022. In February 2023, Rodriguez was temporarily moved to Oklahoma to face separate charges of child neglect and domestic abuse, but those charges were dismissed, and he was returned to Texas to face trial for Mendoza’s killing.
During Friday’s court hearing, Rodriquez pleaded guilty in exchange for a 60-year prison sentence, avoiding a potential life term. Mendoza’s obituary described her as a devoted mother who “lived life to the fullest, wanting to experience and enjoy everything possible.” The case has drawn renewed attention to the dangers of domestic violence, with officials urging victims to seek help before disputes escalate into tragedy.