An Oklahoma man has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for fatally shooting his girlfriend during an argument outside a Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Amarillo, Texas.
According to court records, 33-year-old Mario Alberto Rodriquez pleaded guilty on Oct. 6 in Potter County to one count of murder in connection with the 2022 killing of 23-year-old Marisela Mendoza. Judge Steven Denny handed down the 60-year sentence the same day.
The incident occurred around 8:30 p.m. on April 30, 2022, when Rodriquez and Mendoza began arguing in the restaurant parking lot. During the confrontation, Rodriquez pulled out a gun and shot Mendoza, according to reports from KVII, FOX Carolina, and KFDA. Mendoza was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she later died.
A witness inside the restaurant, Cathlina King, said she was dining with her children when the gunfire broke out.
“I came to eat at Texas Roadhouse with the kids and someone was just shot in the parking lot right outside the window where we are sitting… It was scary at first because a bullet could have easily come through a window,” King wrote on Facebook, according to KTXS 12. “This isn’t the Amarillo I moved to… Maybe we all need to start carrying protection.”
After the shooting, Rodriquez fled the scene in a gray Dodge Charger with two young girls, prompting an AMBER Alert. Authorities later arrested him near Hereford, Texas, and canceled the alert. The children were unharmed, though it remains unclear whether they were related to Rodriquez.
Separate Oklahoma court records indicate that in 2021, Rodriquez was charged with child neglect and domestic abuse — assault and battery in the presence of a child. Both charges were dismissed with costs in 2025, according to the docket.
Rodriquez’s guilty plea brought the Texas murder case to a close before a trial that had been scheduled for 2026.
