HOUSTON – The Houston Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating a man accused of shooting and killing a woman while she was inside her vehicle in northwest Houston nearly two years ago.
Romualdo Josue Mendez, 31, is charged with murder in the 351st State District Court. He is accused of murdering 35-year-old Stacey Berghoff.
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According to investigators, Berghoff and a male friend were looking through discarded furniture left outside by neighborhood residents when the suspect blocked the woman’s vehicle parked in the center of the road in the 8600 block of Rayson Road.
Police said the suspect exited his silver Ford F-150 pickup truck and confronted the victim over her parked vehicle. The argument then escalated into a physical altercation and fight, officers said. Berghoff allegedly cut or stabbed the suspect with a pocket knife to create separation from him, returned to her vehicle and then left the scene.
The suspect went to his truck, chased after Berghoff and eventually caught up with her vehicle on Rannie Road, investigators said. According to HPD, the suspect fired multiple shots into the driver’s side of Berghoff’s vehicle, striking her one time and causing her to lose control. The victim’s friend, who was a passenger, reportedly managed to stop the vehicle and the suspect fled.
Paramedics arrived and pronounced Berghoff dead at the scene. Police said at the time, the suspect was only described as a man in his early 30s who was about 6 feet tall with an average build.
On Feb. 21, 2021, a composite sketch of the wanted suspect and a photo of his vehicle, a silver, Ford F-150 pickup truck were released to the public. Police said further investigation identified Mendez as the suspect and on April 16, 2022, a murder charge was filed. Since that time, officers said efforts to locate Mendez have been unsuccessful.
Detectives are asking anyone with information on Mendez’s whereabouts to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or speaking anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.