In the early morning hours of July 18, 2015, the chaotic scene of a typical Saturday night at Stars Cabaret, a gentlemen's club in Salem, Oregon, was shattered by gunfire. By the end of the turmoil, 47-year-old Darryl Patrick Jones, a male bystander, was fatally wounded. Three other individuals were also struck by bullets but survived their injuries.
The incident, which was not a random act of violence, was later attributed to a gang-related altercation that erupted within the crowded establishment.
The investigation into the shooting moved swiftly, and on July 22, 2015, authorities arrested 25-year-old Tomas Mendoza-Moreno in Portland. At the time of the shooting, Mendoza-Moreno was on parole for first-degree robbery. An eyewitness to the event later positively identified him from a line-up as the man she saw firing a handgun multiple times inside the club, his face illuminated by the muzzle flashes.
The intended target of the shooting was Jose Quintanilla. However, the indiscriminate spray of bullets also struck Darryl Patrick Jones, as well as David Raschko, Lamont Lawrence, and even one of the shooter's own friends, Jason Alba. Jones tragically succumbed to his injuries, his death described by his father as a "senseless murder" that left an irreplaceable void in their lives.
In February 2016, to avoid a trial, Tomas Mendoza-Moreno pleaded guilty to a slate of charges, including murder, attempted murder, first-degree assault, and felon in possession of a firearm. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison. Under the terms of his sentence, he will not be eligible for parole for at least 40 years. During the sentencing, a letter from Jones's mother was read in court, poignantly expressing that the void left by her son's death "can never be filled." Mendoza-Moreno offered an apology to the families of the victims, stating that he had found religion since the incident and was striving to become a better person.
