Mescalero Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Domestic Assault

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Julius Scott Mendez was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Mendez, 31, of Mescalero, and an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, pled guilty to assault of an intimate partner resulting in substantial bodily injury and assault of an intimate partner by strangling on January 31, 2023.

According to court documents, on April 25, 2022, Mendez was drinking alcohol with his then-girlfriend, Jane Doe, at Jane Doe’s house. Mendez became upset with Jane Doe and began to argue with her until Jane Doe went to bed to end the argument. Later that night, Jane Doe awoke to Mendez viciously kicking her and stomping on her chest while wearing steel-toed boots. Mendez kicked, punched, and strangled Jane Doe until she lost consciousness. Jane Doe awoke the next morning in her bed in a pool of blood. In addition to violently assaulting Jane Doe, Mendez also destroyed Jane Doe’s house.

Jane Doe was treated at the Lincoln County Medical Center twice after the assault. Jane Doe presented at the emergency room with severe bruising to her head, face and neck and a nasal septal deviation. Jane Doe will need surgery to address the injuries.

Upon his release from prison, Mendez will be subject to 6 years of supervised release.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Matilda McCarthy Villalobos and Eliot Neal are prosecuting the case.

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