A Riverside County jury deadlocked 9-3 in favor of guilt in the trial of a man accused of fatally slugging a man in downtown Riverside in 2023, and the District Attorney’s Office is deciding whether to retry Mike Mendez.

Jurors weighing whether Mendez, 38, was guilty of assault on a person causing great bodily injury submitted four unspecified questions to Superior Court Judge Valerie Navarro during their three days of deliberations at the Riverside Hall of Justice. Navarro declared a mistrial on Friday, Dec. 5, after jurors said they could not reach a unanimous verdict.

The parties are scheduled to reconvene on Feb. 18.

“Our office will make a decision by then if we will retry this case,” said Molly Smith, a spokeswoman for the DA’s Office.

The attack happened around 2:30 a.m. on Oc

See Full Page