Assistant District Attorney Cydney Pope leaves the Juanita Kidd Stout Center for Criminal Justice on the first day of trial Nov. 12 for two men charged in the death of Philadelphia Police Officer Richard Mendez. Read more Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer

by Jesse Bunch Published Nov. 18, 2025, 6:35 p.m. ET

As the murder trial for two men charged in the shooting death of Philadelphia Police Officer Richard Mendez drew to a close Tuesday, prosecutors and defense attorneys offered differing interpretations of what happened on that violent October 2023 evening.

Assistant District Attorney Cydney Pope said a group of men — including 20-year-old Yobranny Martinez-Fernandez and 23-year-old Hendrick Pena-Fernandez — went out that night with the goal of stealing cars, a busin

See Full Page