Technology

The owner of a North End restaurant accused of firing a gun at a business rival was in court Friday to change his plea to guilty on several charges. Patrick Mendoza, the owner of Monica’s Trattoria, was charged in connection with a July 12, 2023, shooting on Hanover Street that shattered the glass of Modern Pastry. No one was injured in the incident.He was rearrested in June after police said he cut off his GPS monitoring bracelet while out on bail.Surveillance video obtained by WCVB shows the incident last year at 257 Hanover St., during which a man fired a gun at another man while riding a bicycle outside the popular business.Rocco Giovenello, a man who lives upstairs from Modern Pastry, told NewsCenter 5 that he was the person who was shot at outside of the bakery and that he has been harassed by Mendoza for years. The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said Mendoza’s probation in a 2022 assault case involving Giovenello was due to expire on the day of the shooting.Mendoza was charged with assault by means of a dangerous weapon, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, and assault and battery.The district attorney’s office said there was also no record of Mendoza legally owning a firearm.In court Friday, Mendoza pleaded guilty to charges of attempted assault and battery with a firearm, armed assault with intent to murder, carrying a loaded firearm without a license, and possession of a firearm not at home or work without a license. Mendoza was sentenced to 2 and one-half years in the South Bay House of Corrections, with one year of that sentence suspended. He will also be credited for 10 months already spent in jail. After his release, Mendoza was sentenced to probation for three years. If he violated the terms of his probation, Mendoza would be required to serve the suspended balance of his incarceration.