• Oscar Mendoza, 42, charged with aggravated family assault and injury to a child following a domestic violence incident on Easter Sunday in northeast Harris County.
• Authorities say Mendoza pushed his girlfriend to the ground, poured gasoline over her body and the house, and threatened to set them on fire while waving a lighter.
• When a 12-year-old child tried to intervene, Mendoza allegedly grabbed the child by the throat.
• The Harris County District Attorney’s Office accepted both charges against Mendoza.
• Court records detail the alleged assault at a home on the 4000 block of Apache Lane.
Northeast Harris County, Texas –
Deputies with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office responded to a family assault call at a house on the 4000 block of Apache Lane in northeast Harris County on Easter Sunday.
According to court documents, 42-year-old Oscar Mendoza had been drinking and began arguing with his girlfriend. Investigators say he pushed her, causing her to fall to the ground.
Mendoza then allegedly grabbed a container of gasoline and started pouring it all over the house and all over his girlfriend’s body. The woman told investigators that the fuel caused a burning sensation on her skin.
Court records show Mendoza threatened to light the house and his girlfriend on fire, both verbally and by waving a lighter near the fluid.
When one of the four children present in the house tried to stop him, authorities say Mendoza grabbed the 12-year-old by the throat.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office accepted charges of aggravated family assault and injury to a child against Mendoza. Court documents also note that Mendoza had a prior aggravated assault charge against a family member in 2006.
This incident highlights the serious nature of domestic violence calls that deputies respond to, where alcohol and escalating arguments can quickly turn dangerous for everyone in the home.