Carjacker Transitioning To Become A Man Sentenced

HARMAR TOWNSHIP (KDKA) - The court records list the defendant at Jeanette Mendenhall but the defendant told the judge he'd prefer to be called "Jay" because he is transitioning to live as a man having been born as a woman.

Mendenhall was in court Wednesday, accused of carjacking a woman who was with her two young children in the parking lot of the Funfest in Harmar.

The car was eventually found wrecked not far away.

Mendenhall told investigators he had no memory of the carjacking because he took something he got online called MEO 3, which is described as similar to PCP.

Judge Jill Rangos took Mendenhall's mental and physical state into consideration and determined that jail time wasn't the best option. Mendenhall was sentenced to one to two years in a group treatment facility, as he is still undergoing hormone shots and transitioning into a male lifestyle.

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His attorney agrees with the sentence.

"I can't help but think that the combination of the hormone shots and these drugs (MEO) that you can get online that are technically legal, but who knows what is in them. Plus, that there was no history of violence," said Defense Attorney Robert Stewart.

Mendenhall will also be on probation for six years to make sure the treatment is taken seriously.

Meantime, Mendenhall anatomically is still a female and is housed among the female population. He is receiving hormone shots while in the Allegheny County Jail.

The formal sentence was 11 1/2 to 23 months in jail with credit for the 11 months served, which makes Mendenhall eligible for the court-approved group home.