Mendiola brothers charged in death

SPOKANE — Three brothers of Washington basketball players Giuliana and Gioconda Mendiola have been charged along with four others in the death of a northern Idaho man — part of an investigation of a drug-smuggling operation that authorities say ran from Canada to California.

Among those indicted were Giovanni Mendiola, 32, Pierro Mendiola, 31, and Eddie Mendiola, 33. The Mendiola siblings are among nine children in the Lake Forest, Calif., family. The three brothers indicted are not part of the family group that regularly attends UW games, a school spokesman said.

In the March 21 indictments, a Kootenai County (Idaho) grand jury charged Giovanni Mendiola with first-degree murder in the death of Brendan Butler, whose body was found Nov. 13, 2002, at a campground near Hayden Lake, Idaho.

Giovanni Mendiola, of Orange County, Calif., was also charged with eight other counts, including kidnapping, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, kidnapping and murder, court documents said. He was being held without bail.

Pierro and Eddie Mendiola; John Altamirano, 25; Brian Weathersby, 24; and Marco A. Garcia, 31, all from Orange County, Calif., were arrested on warrants charging numerous crimes, including robbery, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder.

Justin Miller, 23, of Spokane, was indicted on five counts, including conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery, second-degree kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder.

All but Giovanni Mendiola were being held on $1 million bail. Officials said extradition proceedings are under way.

Butler, 20, had been stabbed before being dumped off a dirt road near the campground. His 1993 Cadillac El Dorado was found abandoned on a Seattle street in late December 2002.

UW Coach June Daugherty was aware of the arrests, university spokesman Jim Daves said. They had no comment.