Two teens have been arrested in connection with shooting a loss prevention associate at a northwest Wichita Menards on Monday. One of them, 17-year-old Mia Hidalgo, was taken into custody on Tuesday after a police chase and crash in Derby. On Thursday, her father, Doug Clendening reached out to Eyewitness News concerned about this daughter. “It’s hard, it’s hard watching your daughter, watch what she’s going through and the choices they make, and it’s just really heart-wrenching,” said Doug Clendening. He says his daughter has been through a lot, including domestic violence with her boyfriend, and the other suspect in the shooting, Dominic Williamson. “[I] tried to deter her from that relationship, and he’s been domestically violent towards her,” said Clendening. He says that doesn’t excuse Mia’s recent actions, but he says she does have a drug problem. “The ice that’s going around town, how its just driving people crazy and doing things that they just normally wouldn’t do,” said Clendening.
KWCH personal protection expert, Joe Shillaci, spent decades in law enforcement and says there is a difference between adults and young people who commit crimes. “In a juvenile mind, which is not completely developed, there is a part of the brain that teaches people consequences and that part of the brain is not completely developed until you’re 25 years old,” said Shillaci. Clendening says that describes his daughter and her boyfriend. “The not thinking it through,” he said. “She just had her birthday in April, so yeah she just turned 17.” Now, he hopes telling his story can help other parents. “I just want us as a society, as a community as a whole, to learn what’s going on out there, what our kids are being exposed to, pay attention to the signs,” said Clendening. He says his heart goes out to the loss prevention officer and his family. Mia Hidalgo is expected in court next on May 17. Dominic Williamson is being held on bond in Ellis County on charges for the pursuit. His attorney says he will probably be there for a while before he is sent back to Wichita. We want to disclose that Doug Clendening is on parole for aggravated robbery from a case in 2009. [Source: KWCH12 News]