Lawrence man accused in toddler’s death asks for more time to reach a plea agreement

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Bishop I. Mendoza appears in Douglas County District Court on Thursday, April 7, 2022.

A Douglas County judge gave an attorney two more weeks to finalize the details of a plea agreement in a case involving the shooting death of a toddler.

The defendant, Bishop I. Mendoza, 21, appeared in court Thursday for the second time for a scheduled plea hearing, and for the second time his defense attorney, Angela Keck, asked for a continuance.

Mendoza faces an involuntary manslaughter charge for the unintentional shooting last summer of his cousin, 2-year-old Legend King, of Lawrence.

Keck said that the agreement was not ready and that she needed additional time to gather all of the appropriate information and paperwork to make the deal.

Judge Kay Huff granted the attorney more time but said that if she set another date for the hearing she expected Keck to be ready.

“I do not want another excuse,” Huff said.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Seth Brackman did not object to the continuance and said they were working with the defense to finalize the agreement.

Huff set a new date of April 22 for the plea hearing.

As previously reported by the Journal-World, Mendoza was charged with involuntary manslaughter, two counts of aggravated endangering a child, and theft of a firearm. The shooting occurred midmorning on Sept. 17, 2021, in the 1500 block of Wedgewood Drive.

The 2-year-old was taken to LMH Health but was later pronounced dead. Early in the investigation, police said the shooting appeared to be an accident. Mendoza was also accused of putting the life of another child, age 4, at the residence in danger.

The theft charge accused Mendoza of stealing a firearm that belonged to someone else. The firearm is listed as a Glock 23 Gen4 semi-automatic handgun.

Mendoza was released from custody on Sept. 25, 2021, after posting a $25,000 bond, according to court records.

photo by: Dylan Lysen/Journal-World

Lawrence police block off an area near a reported shooting Friday, Sept. 17, 2021, in the 1500 block of Wedgewood Drive in eastern Lawrence.