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Judge Sentences Mendoza Inmate to Five Years for 2023 Courtroom Attack

The judge approved a negotiated five-year term that leaves his incarceration unchanged given prior murder sentences.

Overview

  • Judge Belén Salido homologated an agreement that gives Hugo Eduardo Arredondo a five-year sentence for aggravated threats with a weapon, attempted evasion, and aggravated unlawful deprivation of liberty.
  • The ruling, issued on October 29, 2025, followed a proceeding that began the day before and was based on a plea arranged by prosecutor Gonzalo Marzal and public defender Marian Gil.
  • Courtroom video from the September 13, 2023 incident showed no physical contact with prosecutor Claudia Ríos, prompting prosecutors to drop an initial attempted-homicide theory.
  • Arredondo eluded guards with a homemade knife, rushed toward Ríos, tried to seize a law student as a hostage, and was subdued in a corridor after security intervened and Ríos used pepper spray.
  • The new term was unified with Arredondo’s existing life sentence and a separate 14-year conviction for previous murders, limiting the practical effect on his custody.