Inset: Oved Bernardo Mendoza Argueta (Dallas County Jail). Background: The since-shuttered Chick-fil-A where Argueta killed two people in Irving, Tex. (Google Maps).
A Texas man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after shooting and killing two employees at a Chick-fil-A in front of his wife.
On Wednesday, Oved Bernardo Mendoza Argueta, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Dallas District Attorney's Office.
In short order, the defendant was sentenced to life in prison for the murder charge and 20 years in prison for the aggravated assault charges. The sentences were assessed to run consecutively, or one after another, by 203rd District Court Judge Rocky Jones.
The punishment was meted out, by way of an interpreter, in response to the deaths of 49-year-old Patricia Portillo and 31-year-old Brayan Godoy, as well as injuries sustained by a third employee.
"While no sentence can undo the profound loss suffered by these families, this resolution ensures accountability and underscores that acts of violence in our community will be met with serious consequences," the district attorney's office said in a statement.
The underlying incident occurred in June 2024 at the fast-food restaurant on North MacArthur Boulevard in Irving – a large city located some 13 miles west of Dallas and part of the Mid-Cities region in the sprawling Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
The Irving Police Department was called to the location in response to shots fired at 3:50 p.m. Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene of the crime by Irving Fire Department paramedics.
Just before 6 p.m. that same evening, law enforcement were on the lookout for Argueta, according to a post on X (formerly Twitter). He was seen fleeing the area driving a silver Honda sedan.
The defendant was taken into custody during the early morning hours the next day, the police department said in an update on Facebook.
One of the victims' daughters read an impact statement during the sentencing hearing, according to the district attorney's office.
The since-condemned man's wife worked at the Chick-fil-A where the shooting took place and was present at work on the day in question, watching her co-workers die at her husband's hands. The killer's wife would go on to provide police with his identity, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by The Dallas Morning News.
To date, law enforcement has not publicly speculated about a motive for the violence. Argueta is a Salvadoran national, and an immigration hold was placed on him immediately after his arrest.
In comments to CBS News, the mother of an employee who survived the shooting offered some insight into the incident.
"He just keeps telling me he's okay," she said. "But I don't know what's going on in his head right now. As a mother…I mean, you don't even have to be a mother, just as a human being…It is scary. Are we not able to go out and work? Can we not go out and have a decent meal at a restaurant?"
As part of his plea agreement, Argueta waived the right to an appeal. The specific Chick-fil-A location remains closed as of this writing.
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