Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Prime Minister of Yemen’s Houthi Government Killed in Israeli Strike

2 days ago

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Signs Law Redrawing Congressional Maps

2 days ago

US Air Force will Offer Military Funeral Honors to Slain Capitol Rioter

3 days ago

US Republican Senator Joni Ernst Will Not Run for Re-Election, CBS News Reports

3 days ago

Wall Street Falls as Dell, Nvidia Drive Tech Losses

3 days ago

US Denies Visas to Palestinian Officials Ahead of UN General Assembly

3 days ago

Minneapolis Children Revealed Courage, Absorbed Fear During Church Shooting

3 days ago

Ford Recalls Nearly 500,000 Vehicles Over Brake Fluid Leak

4 days ago

Fresno-Bound Passenger Says Delta Attendant Slapped Him, Seeks $20M

4 days ago
Immigrant Pleads Guilty to Modesto Area Police Officer's Killing
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
November 6, 2020

Share

SACRAMENTO — A Mexican immigrant in the country illegally pleaded guilty under a deal with prosecutors in an emotional hearing Thursday to killing a Modesto area police officer in a case that President Donald Trump used to bolster his call for tougher border security.

Paulo Virgen Mendoza admitted fatally shooting Fiji-born Cpl. Ronil Singh of the tiny Newman Police Department during a traffic stop early Dec. 26, 2018.

FILE – Paulo Virgen Mendoza (Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department via AP)

He pleaded guilty to murder and admitted to multiple special circumstances and the use of a gun under a deal with Stanislaus County prosecutors that will spare him the death penalty. The district attorney’s office had said in May it would seek his execution if he was convicted.

Singh Killed the Day After Christmas

Investigators said Mendoza shot Singh after the police corporal stopped him early the day after Christmas on suspicion of driving under the influence.

“He loved his American dream of becoming a police officer,” said his widow, Anamika Singh-Chand, breaking down in sobs on the witness stand. “He wanted his son to also be a police officer.”

She recalled how the family celebrated Christmas together before he kissed his 5-month-old son on the forehead, then “he told me, ‘I love you and I’ll see you in the morning.’ ”

Then came the 2 a.m. knock on the door from a fellow officer and the nightmarish ride to a hospital surrounded by officers from multiple agencies, where she learned he had died.

She told Virgen Mendoza that he “tore away my dreams … tore my love away from me and left me silently screaming.”

Widow Believes Killer Deserves Death Penalty

She initially carried their child to the witness stand with her to show him to Virgen Mendoza, but handed him off when he began crying. Judge Ricardo Córdova said he gave the child several toys to calm him during a break in the hearing.

Virgen Mendoza deserved the death penalty, she told Córdova, but she accepted his life-without-parole sentence “since this is California and we would most likely not get it.”

California has not executed anyone since 2006 because of legal challenges, and Gov. Gavin Newsom has imposed a moratorium on executions so long as he is governor.

Virgen Mendoza prompted a lengthy discussion about whether he understood the consequences of his life sentence after he began quoting the Book of Revelations in Spanish, predicted the “end of time” will come in 2025 and said God “has revealed to me that he is going to resurrect the officer.”

“God has forgiven me, and I ask forgiveness with my entire heart from the family. It was not my intention,” he said.

Córdova eventually decided Virgen Mendoza understood his rights and accepted the plea.

“I hope that every morning when you wake up you think about what happened and … why you are in prison” he told Virgen Mendoza. “That is a pain you will have, your family will have. But the pain is a lot greater for the Singh family.”

Case Reignited Debate Over Sanctuary Law

Virgen Mendoza was in the country illegally, and two men who also were in the country illegally including his brother were later convicted by a federal jury of aiding Mendoza as he tried to escape to Mexico. Three others, including his girlfriend, pleaded guilty and two more were acquitted, But all faced deportation proceedings.

The case reignited debate over California’s sanctuary law that limits cooperation by local authorities with federal immigration authorities. Trump used the slaying to bolster his argument for tighter immigration security amid a fight with congressional Democrats over funding for a border wall.

Virgen Mendoza was using the alias Gustavo Perez Arriaga when he was arrested two days after the slaying following a manhunt.

He wore a black mask intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus and spoke in Spanish as he sat between his attorney and a translator, wearing a stripped orange and white jail uniform.

“I stopped at a store and I bought more beer. I had been drinking all day and all night,” he recited in Spanish from a prepared statement. When Singh stepped away from his car during the stop, “I shot multiple times out of the window. Corporal Singh was shot and died.”

Three fellow officers, his widow, mother and brother all told of a man who his widow said “always did the right thing.” He kept feeding those who were homeless, she said, yet worried that the police chief would be upset because they had taken to living in a Newman parking lot.

“We are more of a family than a department” with just 11 officers, Newman Police Department Cpl. Edgar Lopez said. ”Christmas time will never be the same for our department and the Singh family.”

“I lost a brother. This world lost a hero,” said Stockton Police Officer Jason Da Silva, speaking to Virgen Mendoza with his voice breaking. “You, you’re just a coward.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Garnet Fire Grows to 18,748 Acres in Sierra National Forest

DON'T MISS

US Judge Blocks Deportations of Unaccompanied Migrant Children to Guatemala

DON'T MISS

Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Netanyahu to Convene Security Cabinet

DON'T MISS

Thousands in Australia March Against Immigration, Government Condemns Rally

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He Will Order Voter ID Requirement for Every Vote

DON'T MISS

Greta Thunberg Joins Flotilla Heading for Gaza With Aid

DON'T MISS

Chicago Mayor Says Police Will Not Aid Federal Troops or Agents

DON'T MISS

Post-War Gaza Plan Sees Relocation of Population, ‘Digital Token’ for Palestinian Land: Washington Post

DON'T MISS

Labor Day Quiz: Do You Know What a Knocker-Upper Is?

DON'T MISS

Bulldogs Check All the Boxes in Runaway Win Over Georgia Southern

UP NEXT

Lawsuit Links CA Teen’s Suicide To Artificial Intelligence

UP NEXT

Hearing Ends Without Ruling On Trump’s Firing Of Fed Governor Cook

UP NEXT

Gov. Newsom Launches New Task Force To Clear CA Homeless Encampments

UP NEXT

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Signs Law Redrawing Congressional Maps

UP NEXT

Fresno vs. Clovis: Which City Is Cheaper to Live in Right Now?

UP NEXT

Kim Harvey Named Executive Producer of ‘CBS Evening News’

UP NEXT

US CDC Director Ousted Weeks Into Job

UP NEXT

Second-Highest Unemployment Rate Still In California

UP NEXT

Poll: Californians Overwhelmingly Reject Trump’s Immigration Policies

UP NEXT

Poll: Katie Porter Holds Early Edge in California Governor’s Race

Thousands in Australia March Against Immigration, Government Condemns Rally

15 hours ago

Trump Says He Will Order Voter ID Requirement for Every Vote

16 hours ago

Greta Thunberg Joins Flotilla Heading for Gaza With Aid

16 hours ago

Chicago Mayor Says Police Will Not Aid Federal Troops or Agents

16 hours ago

Post-War Gaza Plan Sees Relocation of Population, ‘Digital Token’ for Palestinian Land: Washington Post

16 hours ago

Labor Day Quiz: Do You Know What a Knocker-Upper Is?

16 hours ago

Bulldogs Check All the Boxes in Runaway Win Over Georgia Southern

1 day ago

Judge Blocks Pillar of Trump’s Mass Deportation Campaign

1 day ago

Classic Cars Will Still Need a Smog Test in California After Lawmakers Reject Jay Leno Bill

2 days ago

Visalia Driver Arrested for DUI After Multiple Crashes and Pedestrian Injured

2 days ago

Fresno County Garnet Fire Grows to 18,748 Acres in Sierra National Forest

A lightning-sparked wildfire, the Garnet Fire, in the Sierra National Forest has burned 18,748 acres in Fresno County and remains at 8% cont...

15 hours ago

Photo: USDA - Forest Service Tanker 40 at Fresno Air Attack Base. The Fresno County Garnet Fire in the Sierra National Forest has burned 18,748 acres and is 8% contained as crews make progress on containment lines while bracing for possible thunderstorms early this week. (Sam Wu/USFS)
15 hours ago

Fresno County Garnet Fire Grows to 18,748 Acres in Sierra National Forest

U.S. flag and Judge gavel are seen in this illustration taken, August 6, 2024. (Reuters File)
15 hours ago

US Judge Blocks Deportations of Unaccompanied Migrant Children to Guatemala

Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, August 31, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
15 hours ago

Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Netanyahu to Convene Security Cabinet

Demonstrators hold a banner during the 'March for Australia' anti-immigration rally, in Sydney, Australia, August 31, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
15 hours ago

Thousands in Australia March Against Immigration, Government Condemns Rally

President Donald Trump walks on the grounds of the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, U.S., August 30, 2025. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
16 hours ago

Trump Says He Will Order Voter ID Requirement for Every Vote

Activists Yasemin Acar, Greta Thunberg and Thiago Avila attend a press conference before the departure of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a humanitarian expedition to Gaza, at the port of Barcelona, Spain August 31, 2025. (Reuters/Eva Manez)
16 hours ago

Greta Thunberg Joins Flotilla Heading for Gaza With Aid

National Guard troops wear gas masks during protests against federal immigration sweeps, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
16 hours ago

Chicago Mayor Says Police Will Not Aid Federal Troops or Agents

A view of tents sheltering Palestinians displaced by the Israeli military offensive, in Gaza City, August 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
16 hours ago

Post-War Gaza Plan Sees Relocation of Population, ‘Digital Token’ for Palestinian Land: Washington Post

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend