Monday marked the fourth day of the murder trial for the two men accused of killing Philadelphia Police Sgt. Richard Mendez during a confrontation at a Philadelphia International Airport parking garage two years ago.
Monday’s focus was on forensic evidence with a homicide detective taking the stand and telling the jury that pictures, Instagram posts and other social media interactions link Yobranny Martinez-Fernández, 20, and Hendrick Peña-Fernández, 23, to each other as well as three locations the night of the deadly shooting.
The two men are accused of being part of a theft ring targeting vehicles in the airport parking garage when they were interrupted by Mendez and his partner, officer Raúl Ortíz.
Deadly confrontation at PHL parking garage
On Oct. 12, 2023, at 11 p.m., Officer Richard Mendez and Officer Raúl Ortíz arrived at a parking garage for terminals D and E at the Philadelphia International Airport to begin their shifts. Officials said the officers heard the sound of shattered glass and confronted a group of four people who were breaking into a vehicle inside the parking garage.
During the confrontation, Mendez was shot multiple times in the upper torso while Ortíz was shot in the arm. Mendez later died from his injuries while Ortiz survived. Officer Mendez served in the department for 22 years and worked in the 25th District before moving to the Airport Unit. He is survived by a wife and daughter.
One of the suspects in the murder, 18-year-old Jesús Hernán Madera Durán of Camden, New Jersey, was also shot during the incident. The other three suspects, identified as Yobranny Martinez-Fernández, Alexander Batista-Polanco, and Hendrick Peña-Fernández, drove Durán in a stolen vehicle to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where they dropped him off, prosecutors said. Durán was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after.
Prosecutors say the other three suspects eventually drove to Cranbury, New Jersey, where they burned the stolen vehicle in an effort to get rid of DNA evidence. All three were later arrested.
In addition to being charged in Officer Ortiz’s murder, the three suspects were also allegedly part of a multi-state car theft ring in which they stole more than 40 vehicles across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York.
Murder trial underway
Jury selection in the murder trial of Yobranny Martinez-Fernández and Hendrick Peña-Fernández took place on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. Alexander Batista-Polanco had pleaded guilty to the murder charges only a few days prior.
Prosecutors said phone records and other evidence linked Martinez-Fernández and Peña-Fernández to the crime scenes after Officer Mendez’s murder. During Wednesday’s opening statements, however, Peña-Fernández’s defense attorney said there was “very little evidence to no evidence” that their client was there or participated. Martinez-Fernández’s attorney also called into question the prosecution’s case against his client, stating, “there is no video of what happened,” referencing the lack of cameras inside the airport parking garage on the night of the shooting.
Day 2 of the trial
On Thursday, Nov. 13, the second day of the trial, the jury watched surveillance video of two men – who prosecutors allege are Yobranny Martinez-Fernández and Hendrick Peña-Fernández – pulling up to CHOP in the stolen vehicle and dropping off Jesús Hernán Madera Durán.
The jury also heard from several witnesses, including officers who were assigned to the airport and were first on scene following the shooting.
Prosecutor Cydney Pope also played audio of Officer Ortiz’s 911 call.
“Two officers down,” Ortiz shouts in the recording. “I’m shot in the arm! He’s bleeding profusely. Hurry. Oh my God.”
Ortiz then repeatedly screams Officer Mendez’s name and pleads for help.
During cross examination, Martinez-Fernández’s attorney asked several witnesses if they ever saw his client. All of them said no.
Day 3 of the trial
On the third day of the trial on Friday, Nov. 14, jurors learned more about what happened as Alexander Batista-Polanco took the stand alongside a translator.
Batista-Polano previously pleaded guilty on several charges and took a deal with prosecutors.
He claimed that the goal that night was to find and steal Jeeps and Dodge Durangos for money.
Each of them wore masks and gloves to avoid leaving a DNA trail, he claimed.
Day 4 of the trial
The fourth day of the trial took place on Monday, Nov. 17. A homicide detective said that an analysis of cell phone data showed the two men’s phones were at the airport at the time of the shooting.
The data from their cell phones also placed them at CHOP when the critically injured Madera Durán was dropped off, and a few hours later in Cranbury, New Jersey, around the time the Dodge was set on fire, investigators said.
The detective also showed the jury a link to an NBC10 article of the shooting that Martinez-Fernández allegedly sent to his girlfriend hours after it happened and a still image of him outside a phone store the next day where he got a new phone and number.
Both defense teams are attempting to cast doubt that their clients were present at the time of the shooting with Martinez-Fernández’s attorney asking the detective, “It’s a possibility that somebody else was using his phone number?”
To which the detective replied, “It’s a possibility.”
Peña-Fernández’s attorney is also trying to cast doubt his client was involved, arguing during cross examination that none of the phone data presented to the jury connects his client to Martinez-Fernández, Madeira-Duran and Batista-Polanco before the shooting.
The prosecution could rest their case on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
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