Pasco teen who stabbed cops remembered as shy and sweet, but took ‘wrong turn for the worse’

A Pasco teen shot dead after stabbing two police officers recently admitted attacking a relative last summer with “a very large knife.”

Alejandro Betancourt-Mendoza, 18, lived in the North 18th Drive home where officers responded after getting a call Saturday night.

About 15 minutes after they arrived, police reported that two officers had been stabbed and the suspect shot.

The teen died that night from gunshot wounds.

Two of the three officers involved in the violent confrontation were treated at Lourdes Medical Center for their injuries, and are now recovering at home. All three are on paid administrative leave, which is standard protocol pending the outcome of an investigation.

The reason for the 911 call to the home and the circumstances of what led up to the officers being stabbed has yet to be disclosed publicly.

The independent investigation by the multi-agency Tri-Cities Special Investigations Unit could take several months.

Betancourt-Mendoza had a criminal history that included the previous knife attack in front of his home, and the theft of at least $1,200 in hemp plants from a field north of Pasco.

He’d been in Juvenile Court just three weeks earlier though he’d turned 18 in September.

In the most recent case, he was ordered not to own or use a gun or other dangerous weapon.

The Franklin County Coroner’s Office has scheduled an autopsy for Thursday morning.

Teen takes ‘wrong turn’

A GoFundMe account for funeral costs was started by Betancourt-Mendoza’s cousin, who said the teen’s mother is “devastated” by his death.

“Alejandro was a beloved son, brother, nephew, cousin and much more. Many who genuinely knew Alejandro knew he was a shy and sweet boy who kept to himself and never meant to harm anyone,” said organizer Catherine Martinez.

“He was caring towards his family and everyday asked how their days were going, how work was, and if they needed anything,” she wrote.

Martinez said that unfortunately her cousin’s life changed “when he encountered one of (his) worst challenges at such a young age. ... This made him take a wrong turn for the worse when it came to life decisions. Sadly, this resulted in his life being taken too soon.”

She said the family appreciates any help given so they can cover funeral costs.

Betancourt-Mendoza was 16 when he got his first serious charge — fourth-degree assault for punching a stranger.

The teen allegedly was standing in a West Richland intersection in March 2018 when he started yelling at a motorist, accusing the man of trying to run him over and threatening to beat him.

The motorist was about to return to his car and go home when Betancourt-Mendoza again said he was going to whip him. So the man stood his ground and told the teen to “go for it,” only to be punched in the mouth, court documents said.

The case against Betancourt-Mendoza was dismissed last April because prosecutors had concerns about proving the charge. The teen also claimed that he acted in self-defense.

Summer confrontation

Then in July 2019, a cousin who lives across the street from Betancourt-Mendoza’s family told police he was walking out to his car to grab his work schedule at 10 p.m. when he noticed the teen standing in his own driveway holding a large knife.

Betancourt-Mendoza yelled at his cousin to get his attention, then began running toward him from across the street, court documents said.

The cousin said he was extremely frightened and ran to his back yard where he called police.

Meanwhile, Betancourt-Mendoza retreated to his own home and, even as police surrounded it, he ignored calls over a loud speaker to come out. His mother and younger brother left the house and told officers the teen was locked in his bedroom, documents said.

Police got a search warrant and went inside to arrest him.

That case was handled in Franklin County Juvenile Court.

He pleaded guilty to the assault and was sentenced Nov. 21 to seven days in juvenile detention with credit for already serving 23 days, one year of community supervision and 96 hours of community service, court records show.

That same week, Betancourt-Mendoza pleaded guilty in Franklin County Superior Court to second-degree burglary. He was charged as an adult since he had turned 18 about six weeks earlier.

In that case, the teen, his older brother Pedro Betancourt-Mendoza and a third man were found in a parked Ford Explorer at 8:42 p.m. Oct. 27 on Crestloch Road.

There was an active no-contact order between the two brothers at the time.

A security guard told Franklin County sheriff’s deputies that an SUV matching the suspects’ vehicle had stopped an hour earlier on Highway 395 while two men jumped a fence and stole some hemp plants, court documents said.

Alejandro Betancourt-Mendoza had told a deputy that they’d been in the area looking for a friend’s house, documents said. Deputies reported finding a “green leafy substance” inside the SUV and in the third man’s pocket.

His 21-year-old brother remains locked up in the Franklin County jail on that case.

Betancourt-Mendoza was sentenced to one month in the county jail and given credit for already doing time.

This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 12:32 PM.