"My Daddy Ate My Eyes"

When a 12-year old neighbor's son went to tell Angel Mendoza, Sr. that his mom was ready to take him to work, the 34-year old man barely cracked the door and looked nervous. He would not let the boy come in and said he would be right out. The neighbor said she saw the man leave quickly, so she sent her son back to the apartment, where he discovered the man's son had been mutilated.

Meanwhile, police received a call regarding a man screaming and chopping at his legs with an axe. After subduing the man and sending him to the hospital for the severe injuries to his legs, police found the little boy, who told them, "My daddy ate my eyes." While the child lost one eye completely, the other may regain some sight in time, though doctors do not know. It is most likely the child will be blind for life.

The mother, who is wanted on a $15,000 warrant for failure to complete a drug course, was nowhere to be found. Both parents were cited in 2006 for being under the influence of PCP. The children are not always removed from homes in which the parents are found guilty of using drugs, say social workers, though they are definitely checked on periodically.

Mendoza is being held on a $1 million bond, charged with mayhem, torture, child cruelty, and inflicting injury to a child. His arrest record dates back to over a decade and includes convictions for drugs, battery, and the aforementioned child endangerment.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009