UPDATE: Mendoza Receives Additional 3-Year Sentence in North Dakota Prison

GRAND FORKS, ND (trfnews.i234.me) Valentin Mendoza has been sentenced to serve an additional 3 years in a North Dakota prison, after finishing a 27-year sentence in Minnesota.
a correction to our sentencing of Valentin Mendoza he’s been sentenced to serve an additional three years in North Dakota for a bail jumping he didn’t show up for a court appearance following his 27-year sentence in Minnesota for the death of a two young boys for background on all this here’s our report from his original sentencing back in December Valentin Mendoza has been sentenced to 27 and a half years in prison for taking the lives of two young men in East Grand Forks in June of last year Mendoza drove a pickup head-on into another vehicle in East Grand Forks killing Ethan Carson and Damien Powell under a plea deal Mendoza pled guilty to two counts of third degree murder four other charges in the case were dropped here’s more background on this story from our earlier reporting charges against 20-year-old Valentin Mendoza of Grand Fork have now been upgraded to include murder from earlier charges of criminal vehicular homicide he’s accused of driving his Ford Ranger pickup on the left here head on into a GMC Envoy on Highway 220 shown on the right on the north side of East Grand Forks on June 17th of 2021. the driver of the envoy and passenger 17-year-old Ethan Carson and 16 year old Damian Powell both wound up dying from their injuries Mendoza is now facing two counts of second-degree murder intentional each of those charges carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison he’s also charged with a two counts of third degree murder depraved mind and act eminently dangerous to others and evidenced a depraved mind without regard for human life each of those charges carries a 25-year maximum sentence plus he still faces the origin General charges of two counts of criminal vehicular homicide each of those charges carries a maximum sentence of 10 years a jury could find him guilty on all or some or none of the charges now according to the criminal complaint a Minnesota Trooper applied for and was issued a search warrant of Mendoza’s cellular phone after the crash and a Minnesota BCA agent was able to retrieve data from the cell phone it included video dated June 17 2021 at 305 PM that was just three minutes before the crash which showed Valentin Mendoza IV driving the pickup truck Northbound on Highway 220 and during the course of this video Valentin Mendoza stated quote it’s time for me to go don’t blame yourself when I’m gone but I just wanted you to know I love you I can’t do this no more so I gotta go unquote base upon the content and timing of this message the trooper believed that Valentin Mendoza was leaving a video suicide note again Valentin Mendoza now sentenced to 27 and a half years in prison with credit for just over a year already served I’m Neil Berg reporting for itrfnews.i234.me