A Texas man, Christopher McDonnell, 32, has been sentenced to 100 years in prison for his role in a two-state shooting rampage that occurred on Thanksgiving 2020.
The rampage resulted in the death of a 22-year-old man, Kevin Mendiola Jr., in Nevada, and a shootout with authorities in Arizona.
McDonnell pleaded guilty in October to over 20 felonies, including murder, attempted murder, murder conspiracy, weapon charges, and being a felon illegally in possession of a firearm. Clark County District Judge Tierra Jones sentenced him to a minimum of 100 years in prison on Friday, December 13.
With credit for time served, McDonnell would be eligible for parole in 2120 if he is still alive.
McDonnell, along with his brother Shawn McDonnell, 34, and Shawn’s then-wife, Kayleigh Lewis, 29, originally faced dozens of charges related to the shooting rampage.
According to police and prosecutors, the trio began their 11-hour rampage on November 26, 2020, which included apparently random shootings that killed Kevin Mendiola Jr. at a convenience store in Henderson, near Las Vegas. The rampage also involved drive-by gunfire that wounded several other people.
The group then continued into Arizona, where there were additional shootings, including one involving a police officer. All three were arrested after their car rolled over. Prosecutors stated that Lewis was the driver, while the two brothers fired indiscriminately out of the vehicle’s windows.
Shawn McDonnell and Lewis are currently awaiting trial. The shooting rampage ended near the Colorado River town of Parker, Arizona, after a chase involving officers from the Arizona Department of Public Safety. The chase culminated in the crash of a car with a Texas license plate and the wounding of Shawn McDonnell by troopers wielding assault-style rifles.
