Ex-Philadelphia police officer sentenced to 8 to 20 years for shooting 12-year-old in the back

A former Philadelphia police officer who shot and killed a 12-year-old boy two years ago was sentenced Monday to eight to 20 years in prison for third-degree murder, authorities and court documents said.

Prosecutors had asked a judge to sentence Edsaul Mendoza, who shot Thomas “TJ” Siderio in the back on March 1, 2022, to serve 20 to 40 years behind bars.

That was partly because shortly after the fatal shooting, Mendoza searched online for plane tickets to the Dominican Republic, where he has roots, prosecutor Clarke Beljean said at a media briefing.

More than a week later, Beljean said, Mendoza searched the internet for places that don’t have extradition treaties with the U.S. and learned Cuba didn’t. He then searched for plane tickets there, Beljean said.

Beljean called the shooting a "shocking crime."

Mendoza, 28, had been charged with first-degree murder, third-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and possession of an instrument of a crime.

He agreed to plead guilty in an agreement with prosecutors that entailed his receiving a sentence that abides by the sentencing guidelines for third-degree murder, for which the minimum is 7½ years.

Mendoza pleaded guilty to murder in April.

“That was a fair, just and equitable sentencing in this case,” Beljean said, adding, however, that TJ never had his day in court.

“Edsaul Mendoza got every benefit of the criminal justice system that he deprived TJ Siderio of by shooting TJ in the back," he said.

Evidence presented to the grand jury showed Mendoza fired three shots at the youth, who shot a gun at an unmarked police vehicle, prompting multiple plainclothes officers to duck for cover, prosecutors have said.

Two of Mendoza's three shots were fired after TJ discarded a gun, prosecutors have said.

Beljean said the boy had stopped running and was on his hands and knees when he was shot in the back. Shortly after the shooting, police announced that Mendoza would be fired for violating the department’s use-of-force directives, including using excessive force.