Jesse Mendoza, a 32-year-old member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribe, was shot in the abdomen just before 12:30 a.m. on March 4, 2025, at the Primavera Apartments on Hayes Avenue in Clinton, Oklahoma. He was taken to Clinton Regional Hospital and died of his wounds. Investigators say Mendoza was in a relationship with a woman who previously dated 28-year-old Joseph Tyler Layton, and the couple lived together at the apartment complex.

A Ring doorbell camera recorded a woman approaching the apartment with a man in a brown jacket and black ski mask, then captured Mendoza’s distressed voice calling for Joe and saying he had been shot; Mendoza reportedly named Joe when asked who shot him at the hospital. Police identified Layton as the suspect; a first-degree murder charge and felony arrest warrant were issued. That same evening, Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers attempted a traffic stop and an officer-involved shooting occurred in a nearby parking lot. Layton, reportedly armed, was shot and later pronounced dead. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is leading the homicide probe while the Department of Public Safety is investigating the shooting of the suspect.

If anyone knew Mendoza, the couple’s situation, or saw activity at the Primavera Apartments that night, please share what was seen or heard.