Fond du Lac County man in country illegally convicted of attempted first degree intentional homicide

A man in the country illegally, living in Fond du Lac County, who stabbed his wife in March, has plead no contest Wednesday, November 13, 2024, to Attempted First Degree Intentional Homicide with a dangerous weapon and domestic abuse.

Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney said Fermin Teodoro Lopez-Mendoza’s bond was revoked and a sentencing date has been set for March 18th. The charges stem from a March 22, 2024 incident where Mendoza stabbed his wife in the stomach at a Highway K address just southeast of the City of Fond du Lac. Mendoza fled the scene before authorities arrived, but they captured him in Ozaukee County the next day.

Federal Homeland Security confirmed to the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office that Mendoza was illegally in the United States. Court records show Mendoza has had run ins with law enforcement in Fond du Lac and Dodge Counties previously for operating a vehicle without a license and without insurance.

KFIZ asked Fond du Lac County Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt why Mendoza’s immigration status wasn’t addressed during those encounters to which Waldschmidt said, “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is currently not placing immigration violation holds on illegal aliens stopped for traffic violations. Law enforcement is instructed to cite and release from the traffic stop.” Waldschmidt went on to say “It leads to the broader topic, with some states like Texas looking to create state legislation to make illegal immigration a violation of state law, but there were immediate challenges to the constitutionality of such laws, continuing to tie the hands of local law enforcement even in border states where the problems run rampant.”

Mendoza faces a maximum penalty of 65 years in prison.