BRUNSWICK, GA - Police arrested Javier Sanchez Mendoza Jr. as part of an expansive Mexican trafficking network with an estimated 71,000 victims from Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras after he kidnapped a woman from a day care with every intention of murdering her in a ritual killing at a cemetery.
According to USA Today, Mendoza wore a mask when he snatched the woman back in 2019 and had plans to stab her and dump her body in the tall grass. The woman fought back, wrestling the knife away from Mendoza's grip, landing between his truck's console and seat just out of reach.
Mendoza quickly changed his plan and drove the woman further north toward his home in Jesup, Georgia. Ronnie Cooper, a veteran officer with the Gylnn County Police Department (GCPD) was on his way home when he heard the call come over the police radio about the day care worker who had been kidnapped by a suspect armed with a knife.
As Cooper rushed north, he called his partner, Jeremy Stagner who also headed out to find the victim by tracking the woman's location via her cellphone. Both Cooper and Stagner were unaware that at that moment, Mendoza had already spread out a large tarp on the floor as he prepared for a prolonged ritual killing.
Thinking back on the horrific event, Cooper described the tense search for the woman amid a murder in progress. He said, "This is the cemetery where the offender in this case brought the victim to kill her. She was able to fight and get the knife away from him. He was going to kill and leave her here."
U.S. Homeland Security Investigations was the lead agency that conducted a three-year investigation into the expansive trafficking network Mendoza was a part of. In court, prosecutors alleged that the men and women a part of the trafficking network were recruited under the guise of working on farms as part of the H-2A visa program for temporary agricultural workers.
Prosecutors said that the scam operated from at least 2015 through 2021 with the criminal organization, likely tied to Mexican cartels, profiting more than $200 million. Others who were supposed to be program participants allegedly paid larger fees and were allowed to abscond, according to the prosecutor. Those individuals relocated into the U.S. without permission, staying illegally.
Experts say that human trafficking is a growing problem and is much larger in scope than most Americans realize. Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Gilluly, who worked on the case said, "I think it's going on all over the U.S. It's mind-blowing."
Julio Lopez, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, testified during Mendoza's sentence hearing confirming that he spoke to more than 200 victims of the labor scam, many of whom did not speak English, were poor and intimidated by the scammers. Lopez told the judge that the visa scam centered on southern Georgia, but expanded to other parts of the country.
Mendoza worked as a farm labor contractor for the U.S. program even though he was in the country illegally. He snuck into the U.S. and used aliases to become a crew leader for the criminal network, later claiming he netted $27,000 per month. Mendoza recruited the kidnapping victim and 564 other women and men as guest farm workers. He had the power to decide where the workers lived and where they worked.
When Mendoza's kidnapping victim and 37 others arrived on a packed bus from Mexica back in September 2018, he took all their passports and then pointed to the woman and told her that she would be his wife. To force compliance, he threatened her and her family in Mexico, including her young son.
He forced her to live with him and take his orders. Gilluly said, "It was all about power and control. If she didn't do what he wanted, she was punished." He added, "Shackles aren't always visible. She came here looking for happiness and found pure hell."
During Mendoza's sentence hearing, she testified that she eventually worked up the courage to call police in 2019 when he tried to rape and strangle her. She borrowed a phone from one of the two men who lived in Mendoza's trailer and called 911. The men tried to protect her as they ran down the street, while Mendoza chased after her with a knife. He was arrested and did a two-month jail bid, giving the men time to help the woman relocate.
She relocated to Brunswick and was enjoying a sunny November day in 2019, watching children play outdoors at the day care when Mendoza rushed in and dragged her to his truck with a blade pressed against her throat. During the drive to his home in Jesup, Mendoza called his contact in Mexico and they discussed whether she should be killed in Mexico or the U.S. They decided she would died on that day in Georgia.
Once at Mendoza's trailer, he placed his knife to the woman's cheek and sliced her skin, then dripped her blood on the statue of the death saint's scythe. Candles flickered near the statue and Mendoza offered up grapes, liquor and other sacrifices. The name of the victim and her birthday were scrawled on paper and left on the altar, along with her photo. In the photo, her face was scratched off and it was placed upside down.
Cooper and Stagner, both task force officers with the FBI Safe Streets Task Force and authorization to cross into other jursidictions, drove to Jesup and found Mendoza's truck parked outside his trailer. They decided they could not wait for a SWAT team to get there and so they hid behind large oak trees, watching the trailer.
Once Mendoza walked outside during a phone call, they tackled him to the ground. Mendoza continued to threated the victim's life and her family, shouting in Spanish at her. Mendoza plead guilty in 2021 in federal court to conspiracy to engage in forced labor. At the time of his arrest, 300 men and women in Mexico were in the process of coming to work for him and had already paid illegal fees. Prosecutors attempted to get him life in prison, but the judge sentenced him to serve 30 years in federal prison where parole is not an option.
According to USA Today, Mendoza wore a mask when he snatched the woman back in 2019 and had plans to stab her and dump her body in the tall grass. The woman fought back, wrestling the knife away from Mendoza's grip, landing between his truck's console and seat just out of reach.
Mendoza quickly changed his plan and drove the woman further north toward his home in Jesup, Georgia. Ronnie Cooper, a veteran officer with the Gylnn County Police Department (GCPD) was on his way home when he heard the call come over the police radio about the day care worker who had been kidnapped by a suspect armed with a knife.
As Cooper rushed north, he called his partner, Jeremy Stagner who also headed out to find the victim by tracking the woman's location via her cellphone. Both Cooper and Stagner were unaware that at that moment, Mendoza had already spread out a large tarp on the floor as he prepared for a prolonged ritual killing.
Thinking back on the horrific event, Cooper described the tense search for the woman amid a murder in progress. He said, "This is the cemetery where the offender in this case brought the victim to kill her. She was able to fight and get the knife away from him. He was going to kill and leave her here."
U.S. Homeland Security Investigations was the lead agency that conducted a three-year investigation into the expansive trafficking network Mendoza was a part of. In court, prosecutors alleged that the men and women a part of the trafficking network were recruited under the guise of working on farms as part of the H-2A visa program for temporary agricultural workers.
Prosecutors said that the scam operated from at least 2015 through 2021 with the criminal organization, likely tied to Mexican cartels, profiting more than $200 million. Others who were supposed to be program participants allegedly paid larger fees and were allowed to abscond, according to the prosecutor. Those individuals relocated into the U.S. without permission, staying illegally.
Experts say that human trafficking is a growing problem and is much larger in scope than most Americans realize. Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Gilluly, who worked on the case said, "I think it's going on all over the U.S. It's mind-blowing."
Julio Lopez, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, testified during Mendoza's sentence hearing confirming that he spoke to more than 200 victims of the labor scam, many of whom did not speak English, were poor and intimidated by the scammers. Lopez told the judge that the visa scam centered on southern Georgia, but expanded to other parts of the country.
Mendoza worked as a farm labor contractor for the U.S. program even though he was in the country illegally. He snuck into the U.S. and used aliases to become a crew leader for the criminal network, later claiming he netted $27,000 per month. Mendoza recruited the kidnapping victim and 564 other women and men as guest farm workers. He had the power to decide where the workers lived and where they worked.
When Mendoza's kidnapping victim and 37 others arrived on a packed bus from Mexica back in September 2018, he took all their passports and then pointed to the woman and told her that she would be his wife. To force compliance, he threatened her and her family in Mexico, including her young son.
He forced her to live with him and take his orders. Gilluly said, "It was all about power and control. If she didn't do what he wanted, she was punished." He added, "Shackles aren't always visible. She came here looking for happiness and found pure hell."
During Mendoza's sentence hearing, she testified that she eventually worked up the courage to call police in 2019 when he tried to rape and strangle her. She borrowed a phone from one of the two men who lived in Mendoza's trailer and called 911. The men tried to protect her as they ran down the street, while Mendoza chased after her with a knife. He was arrested and did a two-month jail bid, giving the men time to help the woman relocate.
She relocated to Brunswick and was enjoying a sunny November day in 2019, watching children play outdoors at the day care when Mendoza rushed in and dragged her to his truck with a blade pressed against her throat. During the drive to his home in Jesup, Mendoza called his contact in Mexico and they discussed whether she should be killed in Mexico or the U.S. They decided she would died on that day in Georgia.
Once at Mendoza's trailer, he placed his knife to the woman's cheek and sliced her skin, then dripped her blood on the statue of the death saint's scythe. Candles flickered near the statue and Mendoza offered up grapes, liquor and other sacrifices. The name of the victim and her birthday were scrawled on paper and left on the altar, along with her photo. In the photo, her face was scratched off and it was placed upside down.
Cooper and Stagner, both task force officers with the FBI Safe Streets Task Force and authorization to cross into other jursidictions, drove to Jesup and found Mendoza's truck parked outside his trailer. They decided they could not wait for a SWAT team to get there and so they hid behind large oak trees, watching the trailer.
Once Mendoza walked outside during a phone call, they tackled him to the ground. Mendoza continued to threated the victim's life and her family, shouting in Spanish at her. Mendoza plead guilty in 2021 in federal court to conspiracy to engage in forced labor. At the time of his arrest, 300 men and women in Mexico were in the process of coming to work for him and had already paid illegal fees. Prosecutors attempted to get him life in prison, but the judge sentenced him to serve 30 years in federal prison where parole is not an option.
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Comments
2024-07-08T07:14-0500 | Comment by: Carlton
Death is the only justice for these animals . The sentence swiftly applied.
2024-07-08T07:15-0500 | Comment by: Carlton
Death is the only justice for these animals . The sentence swiftly applied.
2024-07-09T08:21-0500 | Comment by: David
"Building Back Better." Anyone who votes for a democrat this year is either corrupt or a complete idiot. Unfortunately, there are a lot of both in this country today. DONALD TRUMP 2024 !!!