Jury At Impasse In Trial Of RivCo Man Accused Of Throwing Fatal Punch: Report

RIVERSIDE, CA — The verdict in the trial of a man accused of killing another person with a single punch in downtown Riverside two years ago remains unresolved after the jury reported a deadlock last week, The Press-Enterprise reported.

The Riverside County Jury was at 9-3 in favor of guilt on Dec. 5 and the District Attorney's Office is weighing whether or not it wants to retry Mike Mendez, the newspaper reported.

In California criminal trials, a guilty verdict must be unanimous. Parties are scheduled to reconvene on Feb. 18.

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

Read more from The Press-Enterprise: Jury deadlocks in trial of man accused of throwing fatal punch in downtown Riverside

Mike Mendez, 38, was arrested on Nov. 8, 2023, about a month after he was alleged to landed a punch that later killed a man, according to the Riverside Police Department.

The attack was reported at 2:27 a.m. on Oct. 7, 2023, when officers responded to aid the Riverside Fire Department in the area of University Avenue and Lemon Street, where a man was found unconscious and injured on the ground.

While the victim, 31-year-old George Sifontes of Rialto, was treated by paramedics and taken to a local hospital, he died of his injuries on Oct 17, police said.

The suspect was identified as Mendez, of Riverside.

Sifontes was observing an argument unfold outside when Mendez blindsided him with a punch, which caused Sifontes to hit his head on the pavement. Mendez fled the scene, police said.

He has since pled not guilty and is not in custody.