Hilario Mendoza, a 45-year-old man, had recently embarked on a new career as a taxi driver in Scottsdale, Arizona, a job he took on to support his family while waiting for the summer heat to subside so he could return to his work in construction. On the evening of August 21, 2019, just two weeks into his new role, he was tragically shot and killed.
Earlier that day, Mendoza had proudly shown his new taxi to his mother. It was a brief visit, cut short by a call for service.
That call would tragically be his last. According to his family, the passenger he picked up directed him to a casino, but upon arrival, stated it was the wrong one and asked to be taken to Casino Arizona. It was in the parking lot of this second location that Hilario Mendoza was fatally shot by his passenger.
The suspect, later identified as Gabriel Kavacha, fled the scene in Mendoza's taxi. Salt River Police pursued the vehicle and arrested him approximately eight miles away. Kavacha was subsequently charged with first-degree murder and carjacking.
An investigation into Kavacha's background revealed a significant criminal history. Prior to the murder of Hilario Mendoza, he had been sentenced to over 12 years in prison for a 2004 case involving assault and weapons charges. After his release, he reportedly violated the terms of his supervised release on two occasions in 2017. He was released from custody in November 2018, just nine months before he would become the sole suspect in the murder of the father of three.
