Pa, READING. Prosecutors say a Reading teenager who admitted guilty to first-degree murder in the 2023 shooting death of 30-year-old Natalie Classen was given a sentence of 45 years to life in prison on Monday.
According to authorities, Henry Mendoza, who was a minor when the June 15, 2023 incident occurred, acknowledged killing Classen on purpose early in the morning. Due to Mendoza’s non-negotiated guilty plea, the court was able to inflict the maximum penalty.
In another case that occurred that same week, on November 20, 2024, a jury found Mendoza guilty of two counts of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder related to a drive-by shooting at 13th and Green Streets in Reading. January 9, 2025 is the day of sentencing in that case.
Steve Valdez, a criminal investigator with the Reading Police Department, looked into both incidents, and Assistant District Attorney Daniel P. Troy handled the prosecution.
For a string of horrific crimes that rocked the Reading community, Mendoza now faces decades in jail.
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