All three suspects in the murder of Philadelphia Police officer Richard Mendez are now in custody, officials said.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Interim Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Stanford said two New Jersey men -- Alexander Batista-Polanco, 21, of Camden, and Hendrick Peña-Fernández, 21, of Pennsauken -- have been arrested in Mendez's slaying.
"I'm glad we are able to bring some sense of closure to the Mendez family," said Stanford.
Batista-Polanco had open warrants in New Jersey and Scranton, Pennsylvania, said Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore.
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Early Tuesday morning, U.S. Marshals took Batista-Polanco into custody in New Jersey and brought him in for processing.
At some point between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, Batista-Polanco was then taken to Scranton where he faced unrelated burglary charges.
The District Attorney’s Office then approved murder charges for Batista-Polanco in connection to Officer Mendez’s death. Vanore said Batista-Polanco was being transported to the Philadelphia Police Homicide Division and would arrive at some point on Wednesday.
On Thursday morning, Batista-Polanco was arraigned in Philadelphia on murder charges and held without bail. Online court records don't list an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
Batista-Polanco is charged with murder, attempt to commit criminal homicide of law enforcement officer, criminal homicide of law enforcement officer, criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault, assault of law enforcement officer, robbery, theft-unlawful taking, theft-receiving stolen property, VUFA-no license, VUFA-on streets, use of communication facility, possession of instrument of crime, simple assault, obstruction of justice, recklessly endangering another person and tampering with evidence.
Police also executed a search warrant at Peña-Fernández’s home in Pennsauken early Wednesday morning, but he wasn’t there at the time, according to Vanore.
Investigators then learned of Peña-Fernández’s location after speaking with other people in the area, Vanore said. Peña-Fernández was located and taken into custody by New Jersey State Police and homicide investigators.
He is currently in custody in Bellmawr, New Jersey, and will be extradited back to Philadelphia to face murder charges.
"All the individuals that were inside of that Dodge Durango the night that this incident happened were identified and we believe we have them in custody," Vanore said.
Officials had been seeking the suspects after Mendez was shot to death in a parking garage at Philadelphia International Airport on Oct. 12.
On Monday, police officials announced the arrest of Yobranny Martínez Fernández, 18, of Camden County, for his suspected involvement in Mendez's death. Fernández was extradited back to Philadelphia on Wednesday morning after being captured in New Jersey. He is charged with the same offenses as Batista-Polanco.
Officer Mendez, 50, was killed at about 11 p.m. on the evening of Oct. 12, just as he -- and fellow officer Raúl Ortíz -- arrived at a parking lot for terminals D and E at the Philadelphia International Airport to begin their shifts.
Officials said the officers heard the sound of breaking glass, and confronted a group of at least four people breaking into a vehicle inside the parking garage.
During that confrontation, Mendez, a 22-year veteran of the police department, was shot multiple times in the upper torso while Ortíz was shot in the arm.
One of the suspects, 18-year-old Jesús Hernán Madera Durán of Camden, New Jersey, was also shot during the incident. He died a short time later that night after being dropped off at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Police believe Mendez was attacked from behind and that the shooter was either Fernández, Peña-Fernández or Batista-Polanco.
While police believe all of the suspects in the murder are now in custody, they have not yet revealed who they believe Mendez' killer was. They also said they are working to identify and possibly arrest anyone else who may have helped the three suspects in Mendez's murder.
Also, Vanore noted that Mendez's handgun, which was taken from the scene of the crime, remains missing.
"We are still searching for the gun," he said.
A reward of more than $275,000 was being offered to anyone with information leading to an arrest. Several businesses and organizations contributed to the reward fund.
During Wednesday's press conference, Commissioner Stanford said they received numerous tips throughout the investigation and they are still working to determine how they will distribute the reward money.
Philadelphia Councilmember Quetcy Lozada also read a statement on behalf of Officer Mendez’s family during the press conference.
“We are relieved and grateful that progress toward justice for Richie has been made. We are thankful for the swift action that the Philadelphia Police Department took to find the perpetrators and we appreciate the outpouring of support through kind words and contributions that remained through the reward fund,” she read.
“It is amazing to see how many people have come together not only to work this case but to bring justice. To support one another in the aftermath of this loss. As a family we are grieving and are facing personal trauma through this murder as are the officers who work with Richie. We are all processing this loss and as we do, each officer of the 25th Police District and the Airport Unit as well as across the city continue to put their uniforms on everyday and continue to protect and serve our city. We are grateful for them, for their dedication to their job and we know that Richie would be grateful too. Even though we’re experiencing hurt and anger, there is some solace in knowing justice is being carried out. As we continue to grieve, we ask for continued privacy but we want to thank everyone once again for all they have done during this extremely difficult time for our family.”
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