New allegations against a North End restaurant owner charged in a shooting near a popular bakery last month are under investigation, prosecutors said Friday at a court hearing in Boston.
It's the latest twist in the case of Patrick Mendoza, a co-owner and former manager of Monica's Trattoria who was wanted for eight days before being arrested in the July 12 shooting outside Modern Pastry.
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Mendoza was in Boston Municipal Court Friday for a probable cause hearing over his arrest in the shooting, which also involved alleged bail violations. Prosecutors at the hearing said they weren't ready to discuss probable cause — Mendoza's lawyer was — but said warrants were issued days ago so police could investigate claims that Mendoza and his brother assaulted a man in 2020 and threatened him with text messages in 2021.
That assault involves the same man whom Mendoza's accused of firing at in July. They'd been involved in an apparent feud for years, and July 12, the day of the shooting, was his last day on probation for assaulting the man, prosecutors have said.
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Mendoza's attorney, Rosemary Scapicchio, said the warrant police obtained was based on text messages that haven't actually been connected to Mendoza or his brother.
Scapicchio was seeking to have Mendoza released on bail, but a judge pushed that hearing to Aug. 24 despite the defense's objection.
The judge did grant a request for information that Scapicchio filed about a list she said was created by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and given to the Boston Police Department of about a dozen people who have allegedly threatened Wu in the past.
Wu's office said the list was created at the request of police over safety concerns.
After the hearing, members of Mendoza's family who'd been in the courtroom said they wanted police to "investigate the other side" in the case.
The hearing comes as the family tries to reopen their restaurant. Mendoza was its manager, and officials revoked the restaurant's licenses to serve food and alcohol after his arrest. The board has since approved a new manager.
No one was hurt in the July shooting, which was caught on camera. Mendoza was arrested after over a week on charges including assault to murder.
Prosecutors have said Mendoza was on his bicycle when he saw the man he'd been feuding with and "fired multiple shots at this individual, stating, 'It's gonna be quick, I'm gonna kill you.'" Mendoza biked away while the man he shot at went to tell police what happened.
