Denver Family Appeals For Charges Against Off-Duty Corrections Officer 2 Years After Shooting Death Of Alexis Mendez Perez

DENVER (CBS4) – The family of shooting victim Alexis Mendez Perez appealed to Denver District Attorney Beth McCann Tuesday seeking charges against a former corrections officer. Mendez Perez was shot along with another teenager April 23, 2020 in the backyard of a home in the Montbello neighborhood.

The other teen was shot in the leg. Mendez Perez was shot in the back and died after running off about a block away.

McCann said in June of that year that prosecutors would have had to prove that off duty corrections officer Desmond Manning was not defending his life or the lives of his family.

"I don't understand how he's saying it was for self-defense. He shot my brother through the back and he was running away," said Ivette Mendez, sister of Alexis. "As the cops were already there at the scene, why did he decide to involve himself in something he didn't need to?"

Mendez Perez and a handful of friends broke into an unoccupied home on East 52nd Avenue. When police showed up, they ran, several leaping a fence into the backyard of a home where Manning lived.

Manning was not charged in the case. The family also notes he was accused of shooting at a car carrying teenagers last year in Keenesburg while he worked as a police officer for Hudson. He is no longer an officer with the department.

The Mendez Perez family believes it shows a proclivity toward shootings, but in neither case has he faced trial.

McCann's office released only a statement about the meeting with the family saying:

"It is DA McCann's custom to meet with families who have lost a child under violent circumstances and today, she met with the family and supporters of Alexis Mendez-Perez. They had a good conversation about her reasons for not filing charges and all parties expressed their appreciation for having a constructive conversation. There were no commitments made."

"She kept saying she's listening, she's listening to everything that we had to say, and I just hope it's not coming in one ear and out the other. I hope she really takes it under consideration, everything we're saying," said Ivette.

"We didn't really get the news that we wanted to hear," said Mendez Perez's girlfriend, Angelina Medel.