Jose Rios and Jorge Mendez
Real Names: Jorge D. Mendez and Jose Luis Rios
Aliases: Flacco (Jose)
Wanted For: Murder
Missing Since: March 1996
Case
Details: Jorge Mendez and Jose Rios are wanted for the murder of nineteen-year-old Kristi Dawn Martin. Kristi was an honor roll student and former high school cheerleader from Houston, Texas, who was gunned down two days before Christmas 1995. Her mother, Judy, says that "everyone knows that they are going to die sometime. But you expect to die when you're old, not when you're nineteen years old." She says that if Kristi had died of sickness or in a car wreck, it would have been a lot easier to accept than the fact that she was murdered, especially because it was so senseless, and she did not need to die.
Kristi had returned home from San Jacinto College in December 1995. On the evening of Friday, December 22, she and a friend, Wendy Wright, double dated at Trail Dust Steak House, a local restaurant, with two brothers, Joe and Sal Barrera. The four had known each other in high school. Christmas break from college was the perfect time to reconnect.
Just fifteen miles away from the restaurant, members of an East Houston street gang were cranking up their Friday night. Nineteen-year-old Jose Luis Rios, whose gang name is "Flacco", and twenty-three-year-old Jorge Mendez went riding around in their red pickup truck, drinking, "looking for some kind of problems to get into," and "looking for something wild to do." Deputy Michael Simpson had dealt with Rios before. Rios has allegedly told people in the past that it was the "ultimate rush" and "ultimate high" to shoot somebody.
Across town, the two couples finished their meal. At around 11:30pm, they headed to River Terrace Park on Market Street in Channelview. The secluded park was a popular hangout for generations and, at one time, considered a safe place. Kristi's father, Brian, had gone there as a child. He recalls that they used to fish, crab, and picnic there. They never had to worry about anyone bothering them for any reason. It was a nice place to take the family. He thinks that the couples went there because they felt safe there. Unbeknownst to Kristi and her friends, the park was no longer neutral territory. Rios' gang liked to think it was theirs and theirs alone.
After being outside for a few minutes, Wendy and Joe decided to go back in the car. Kristi and Sal decided to stay outside and talk. Shortly after midnight, Rios and Mendez noticed them and drove toward them. When their truck drove up, Sal did not notice it at first because his back was towards them. When he did notice them, he assumed that they were just parking next to them. However, Rios and Mendez began to verbally harass the couple. Kristi asked to leave, but Sal tried to calm her down, assuming they were drunk. After a few moments, they decided to go back into the car.
Kristi had trouble getting the door open at first. As Sal tried to help her, she anxiously said, "I've got it, I've got it," and was able to open it. As Sal went to open the driver's side door, Rios and Mendez backed their truck up. Rios stuck his body outside the window and began firing a semi-automatic assault rifle at the couples and their car. Sal got down on the ground and crawled to the front of the car. By the time he got there, Rios and Mendez had taken off. When he got up and looked around the car, he saw Kristi laying on the ground next to the front passenger door. He talked to her and told her, "Please don't leave us." Joe got out and saw Kristi on the ground. She was breathing slowly and staring at him. He knew she was going to die; she had a "glare" in her eyes, like she was looking at him but also looking past him.
Wendy was shot in the thigh but was not seriously hurt. The Barrera brothers escaped without serious injury and got someone from a nearby car to call for help. However, Kristi had taken a direct hit from the rifle. She died at the scene. When she did not come home that night, Judy feared that she had been in a car accident. She says that she never dreamed in a million years that Kristi would be the victim of a drive-by shooting. She did not think that that would happen to someone who was a good person and not involved in gangs.
On the night of the shooting, the Barrera brothers were taken to police headquarters and shown hundreds of photographs of gang members. They identified Rios as the shooter. Six days after the shooting, Rios was formally charged with killing Kristi. He and Mendez, who reportedly drove the getaway truck, had previous run-ins with the law. Mendez was also charged with murder. A friend of Rios' told police that Rios admitted he was a passenger and Mendez was driving at the time of the shooting.
Four weeks before the attack, Mendez had legally purchased the assault rifle that was allegedly used by Rios in the killing. Shell casings found at the scene matched that type of rifle. Detective Chuck Leithner says that it is "hard to swallow" that Rios and Mendez were able to buy assault-type weapons and then go and fire them at will at anybody they want. Brian says that the type of gun that Mendez bought is sold to kill people. Mendez apparently bragged to some of his gang members that he was going to kill somebody with it. Brian says it was clear that Mendez had bought the gun to kill somebody; it just so happened that that "somebody" was Kristi.
Rios has now been linked to a second killing. In March 1996, an uncle of Mendez was gunned down at an intersection. According to Detective Leithner, the uncle had told Mendez and Rios that if they did not turn themselves in, he would call the police on them himself. Within two days of that reported meeting between them, the uncle was shot dead. Deputy Simpson says that the information they have picked up "off the street" is that Rios has taken credit for the uncle's murder as well.
Police have been unable to identify a motive for Kristi's murder; they believe it was a "thrill kill." They also believe that Rios and Mendez, both Mexican nationals, left Houston and fled to Mexico sometime after the murders. The police traced them to a small town there. However, persistent inquiries in the community have convinced investigators that Rios is back in the United States, possibly in Houston on the east side of town.
While Rios and Mendez run free, Brian and Judy Martin are already starting to dread the one-year anniversary of their daughter's funeral, which is on Christmas Eve. Judy says that Christmas will be really hard for them from now on. She says it will never be the same; it will be a very sad time. She says that she knows Christmas should be a happy time, but she cannot imagine it being any sadder since Kristi will not be there. Brian says that losing parents and siblings is difficult, but "when you lose a child, it takes a big hunk out of your heart."
Rewards totaling $12,000 have been offered in connection with Kristi's murder. However, caution is advised: the suspects are considered armed and dangerous.
Extra Notes:
- This case first aired on the September 6, 1996 episode.
- It was also profiled on America's Most Wanted and The Montel Williams Show.
- Sal, who still lived in Houston at the time, asked to be filmed in silhouette.
- Some sources have the victim's first name spelled "Kristie".
Rios after his 2023 arrest
Results: Captured - In August 2000, Mendez was arrested in Mexico on unrelated charges. Shortly afterwards, an informant contacted the Harris County, Texas, Sheriff's Department and informed them about his arrest. Authorities requested that he be extradited back to the United States to stand trial for Kristi's murder. However, the Mexican government said that they would not extradite him unless it could be guaranteed that a life sentence would not be sought against him. In previous instances, the Mexican government would only do this in death penalty cases. It is not known why they requested it for this case as well.
The Harris County D.A. did not want to "limit the punishment range" in a murder case, so they declined the Mexican government's request. Mexican officials were also willing to allow Harris County prosecutors to come to Mexico to try their case there, but they refused, believing that they would not be able to successfully prosecute the case in another country. In the end, Mexican authorities tried Mendez. He was convicted and sentenced to thirty-one years in prison.
In August 2023, Rios was arrested in Mexico City by Mexican authorities. On December 13, FBI agents brought him back to Harris County, Texas, to stand trial for Kristi's murder.
Links:
- Mendez and Rios at Unsolved Archive
- Former cheerleader gunned down in secluded park - December 25, 1995
- Former cheerleader laid to rest - December 25, 1995
- Jailed shooting suspect awaits extradition - January 19, 2001
- Suspect found in '95 'thrill-kill' - January 20, 2001
- Kristi Martin: Gone but not forgotten - October 18, 2001
- Most Wanted - January 23, 2002
- Search for killer continues - December 25, 2002
- Officials arrest man accused of shooting Galena Park HS cheerleader at park 28 years ago - December 14, 2023
- Memorial page for Kristi Martin with descriptions of her killers
- AMW Discussion of Jose Rios