Man Fatally Shot Girlfriend Outside Texas Roadhouse, Then Fled with Kids — Now He Learns Fate

Authorities say Mario Alberto Rodriquez shot Marisela Mendoza during an argument in a Texas Roadhouse parking lot before fleeing with two young girls

NEED TO KNOW

  • Mario Alberto Rodriquez, 33, pleaded guilty in Potter County, Texas, to murder in the 2022 shooting death of his girlfriend Marisela Mendoza
  • Police said Rodriquez shot Mendoza during an argument in the parking lot of a Texas Roadhouse restaurant before fleeing with two young girls, prompting an AMBER Alert
  • Court records reviewed by PEOPLE show he also faced — and later had dismissed — child-neglect and domestic-abuse charges filed in Oklahoma in 2021

An Oklahoma man has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for shooting his girlfriend to death during an argument outside a Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Amarillo, Texas.

Court records reviewed by PEOPLE show Mario Alberto Rodriquez, 33, pleaded guilty on Oct. 6 in Potter County to one count of murder in the 2022 killing of 23-year-old Marisela Mendoza. Judge Steven Denny imposed the 60-year sentence that same day.

Around 8:30 p.m. on April 30, 2022, Rodriquez and Mendoza got into an argument in the parking lot of the restaurant before Rodriquez pulled out a gun and shot her, according to KVII, FOX Carolina and KFDA. She was taken to a hospital, where she died, the outlets reported…

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