Man allegedly assaults woman with gun

The Superior Court has imposed a $20,000 bail on a habitual offender who allegedly assaulted with a shotgun a woman whom he had accused of infidelity.

Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho imposed a $20,000 cash bail on Tinian resident Pedro Barcinas Mendiola during a bail hearing last Monday.

Mendiola, 62, is facing charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery to include domestic violence, and disturbing the peace.

Mendiola is a habitual offender whose record fills nearly three pages, with some cases going as far back as 1981.

After his hearing, Mendiola was remanded back to Department of Corrections’ custody and was ordered to return to court on March 6 for a preliminary hearing while his arraignment is set for March 11.

According to court records, an off-duty police officer and her mother filed a complaint with the Tinian DPS against Mendiola last Feb. 23.

The mother told police that Mendiola—her husband—had been accusing her of cheating on him.

She said that on the night of Feb. 22, Mendiola accused her of cheating, took her to the Suicide Cliff memorial, and threatened to throw her off the cliff.

She begged Mendiola to stop and repeatedly told him she really needed to use the restroom. She said Mendiola drove back to their home and kept accusing her of infidelity.

When they arrived at their residence, the victim said she went into the bathroom while Mendiola continued to shout at her.

Their daughter, an off-duty police officer, came out of the bedroom and asked her mother what was going on. Unfortunately, they couldn’t talk much as Mendiola was around.

The next day, at around 6:30am, the victim told police she woke up to use the bathroom, but Mendiola came and dragged her into the living room where he allegedly began slapping her.

During the altercation, the daughter came out of her bedroom and said she saw Mendiola slapping her mother’s face with both his hands.

She said she immediately separated them and kept yelling at Mendiola to stop.

The daughter said Mendiola continued to shout at her mother, accusing her of cheating on him. The daughter said he then grabbed his shotgun and loaded bullets into it. Mendiola allegedly threatened to kill them both.

The daughter said during this time, she took her son, mother, and her service-firearm, got into her vehicle, and left their residence. They went to the police to report the incident.