Inset: Luis Armondo Diaz Mendez (Bexar County Jail). Background: The pub where Diaz Mendez allegedly threatened to kill people in San Antonio, Tex. (Google Maps).
A Texas man is behind bars for threatening to kill a number of people at a specific place and time — and preemptively providing flowers for their memorials, Lone Star State police say.
Luis Armondo Diaz Mendez, 34, stands accused of one count of making a terroristic threat intending to cause a serious public reaction, according to the San Antonio Police Department.
The underlying incident began during the early morning hours on New Year's Eve at The Ringer Pub on Thousand Oaks Drive, which is located in the Oak Hollow neighborhood of the Alamo City.
During the defendant's first interaction with pub staff, he was "physically" escorted out for causing a "disturbance" at around 1 a.m. and banned from returning to the watering hole, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by San Antonio-based ABC affiliate KSAT.
But Diaz Mendez returned, with a gift of sorts, police say.
Around 1:30 p.m. that same day, the defendant came back with a "bouquet of flowers" in hand, according to surveillance footage cited by the affidavit. Then, he allegedly approached a worker near the bar area, placed the bouquet down, and said: "These are for you."
Next, Diaz Mendez asked the employee if the pub had his black iPhone that he left while being kicked out. After retrieving the digital device, he was told "he needed to leave the premises," police said.
But the defendant allegedly responded with a chilling question.
"You don't work Tuesdays, do you?" Diaz Mendez allegedly asked.
As the woman began to respond, Diaz Mendez allegedly interrupted to say: "Stay away from it. Stay away from next Tuesday night."
Again, the worker told the defendant to leave and that he should "stay away from the location," police said. This suggestion, however, apparently infuriated Diaz Mendez. The woman said he picked up the bouquet and then flung it back down onto the bar.
Then came a harrowing clarification, law enforcement said.
"Those are flowers for the people about to get murdered," Diaz Mendez allegedly said as the petals shook and he finally left the pub.
The worker then called 911 and reported that she feared for her safety and her co-workers' safety due to the defendant's words, according to an arrest report obtained by local NBC affiliate WOAI.
The worker who called police later identified Diaz Mendez from a photograph, authorities say. The defendant was subsequently arrested over the weekend and booked into jail the next day.
Diaz Mendez is currently being detained in the Bexar County Adult Detention Center on $30,000 bond. In the event the defendant is able to post bond, he will be placed on house arrest, court records show.
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