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Henry Mendoza, 19, entered the plea before Berks County Common Pleas Judge Patrick T. Barrett for the shooting death of Natalie Classen, a Hoboken, NJ native recently living in Reading. The fatal shooting occurred at the intersection of 10th and Greenwich streets in the early morning hours of June 15, 2023, prosecutors said.
Mendoza, then nine days shy of his 18th birthday, confronted Classen and her friends after a verbal altercation, brandishing a Taurus 9mm semi-automatic pistol. He shot Classen in the abdomen. She later died at Reading Hospital, authorities said.
The Taurus 9mm used in the killing was found in Mendoza’s residence on Greenwich Street during a police investigation, officials noted.
Although tried as an adult, Mendoza faced a lower minimum sentence than other first-degree murder convictions in Pennsylvania due to his age, as juveniles are not automatically sentenced to life without parole.
Mendoza was also recently convicted in a separate drive-by shooting that took place just days before Classen’s murder. On Nov. 20, a jury found him guilty of two counts of attempted murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, and related firearms charges stemming from the June 11, 2023, incident.
Investigators said Mendoza was a passenger in a car driven by his co-defendant, Bonef Hassel, when he shot Xavier Rivera, 24, and Jaiden DeJesus, 16, in the area of 13th and Green streets. Both victims suffered serious but non-fatal injuries.
The same Taurus 9mm was used in both shootings, police said. Sentencing for the June 11 drive-by is set for Jan. 9, 2025, before Berks County President Judge M. Theresa Johnson.
The cases were investigated by Criminal Investigator Steve Valdez of the Reading Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Daniel P. Troy.
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