A 19-year-old Reading resident, Henry Mendoza, has been sentenced to 45 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to the first-degree murder of 30-year-old Natalie Classen. The plea was entered on Wednesday morning in Berks County Common Pleas Court before Judge Patrick T. Barrett.
Mendoza admitted to fatally shooting Classen during a late-night altercation in June 2023. Despite being nine days shy of his 18th birthday at the time of the crime, Mendoza was tried as an adult. Judge Barrett imposed the sentence following recommendations from both the prosecution and defense.
The incident occurred on June 15, 2023, in Reading. According to police investigations, Classen was walking home with friends at approximately 2:30 a.m. after a night out when they encountered a group of juveniles near the intersection of 10th and Greenwich Streets. Mendoza, armed with a Taurus 9mm semi-automatic pistol, approached Classen and her group during a verbal altercation. He shot Classen in the lower abdomen before fleeing. Classen was rushed to Reading Hospital but died shortly after.
The firearm used in the shooting was recovered the next day in the basement of Mendoza’s residence on Greenwich Street.
This is not the only violent crime Mendoza has been linked to. On November 20, 2024, he was found guilty by a jury of two counts of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder for his involvement in a drive-by shooting just days before Classen’s death.
On June 11, 2023, Mendoza, while riding as a passenger in a car driven by co-defendant Bonef Hassel, shot Xavier Rivera, 24, and Jaiden DeJesus, 16, in the area of 13th and Green Streets. Both victims sustained serious injuries but survived. Investigators confirmed that the same Taurus 9mm was used in both incidents.
Sentencing for the drive-by shooting is scheduled for January 9, 2025, before Berks County President Judge M. Theresa Johnson.
Both cases were investigated by Criminal Investigator Steve Valdez of the Reading Police Department. Assistant District Attorney Daniel P. Troy prosecuted the cases.
