Expand / Collapse search
☰
Freeze Warning
from SUN 12:00 AM MST until SUN 9:00 AM MST, Southeast Pinal County including Kearny/Mammoth/Oracle, South Central Pinal County including Eloy/Picacho Peak State Park, Tohono O'odham Nation including Sells, Western Pima County including Ajo/Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Tucson Metro Area including Tucson/Green Valley/Marana/Vail, North Phoenix/Glendale, Deer Valley, Northwest Valley, Aguila Valley, Buckeye/Avondale, Gila Bend, East Valley, Sonoran Desert Natl Monument, Central La Paz, Superior, Central Phoenix, San Carlos, Northwest Pinal County, Southeast Valley/Queen Creek, Tonto Basin, Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, Tonopah Desert, South Mountain/Ahwatukee, Gila River Valley, Globe/Miami, Dripping Springs, West Pinal County, Scottsdale/Paradise Valley
3
Freeze Warning
from SAT 12:00 AM MST until SAT 9:00 AM MST, South Central Pinal County including Eloy/Picacho Peak State Park, Tohono O'odham Nation including Sells, Southeast Pinal County including Kearny/Mammoth/Oracle, Western Pima County including Ajo/Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Tucson Metro Area including Tucson/Green Valley/Marana/Vail, South Mountain/Ahwatukee, Southeast Valley/Queen Creek, Dripping Springs, Northwest Pinal County, Superior, Tonto Basin, Central La Paz, San Carlos, Gila River Valley, West Pinal County, Globe/Miami, Aguila Valley
Wind Advisory
from SAT 10:00 AM MST until SUN 5:00 PM MST, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Lake Havasu and Fort Mohave

MCSO continues investigation into shooting of barricade suspect by West Valley police officers

By
Published  December 24, 2019 6:07pm MST
Buckeye
FOX 10 Phoenix

Investigation into shooting of barricade suspect continues

On Tuesday, an MCSO investigation into the shooting of a suspect who evaded police since an incident at Walmart that eventually sparked three barricade situations is ongoing. FOX 10's Nicole Garcia reports.

BUCKEYE, Ariz. - MCSO is taking the lead in an investigation into the shooting of a suspect who was on the run for several days.

Christopher Mendoza eluded officers time after time, taking the search from Avondale to Surprise, and finally from Surprise to Buckeye. Buckeye Police officers shot Mendoza as he tried to escape capture a fourth time in a rural West Valley neighborhood.

Following the officer-involved shooting Monday, Mendoza is in the hospital with life-threatening gunshot wounds. He remains in critical condition.

Mendoza is a convicted felon, and was wanted on a string of violent charges since Friday, when police were called to a Goodyear Walmart after he threatened his girlfriend with a gun. Mendoza ran off, sparking a four-day manhunt that includes three standoffs, and spanned four cities.

Investigators worked overnight and into Tuesday afternoon at the scene where Mendoza was finally caught. According to police, Mendoza tried to break into a home after he was spotted by police, but was unsuccessful. Then, he stole an exterminator truck. Buckeye Police officers surrounded him, as he waved a gun around in the air.

Unlike the three previous attempts to capture him, there was no standoff.

"I think that I heard three shots," said Lovell Willis, who lives in the area.

Buckeye Police officials say three of their officers opened fire on Mendoza, after he refused to obey commands and then drove the truck toward them.

Christopher Mendoza (Goodyear Police)

No officers were hurt.

"When I looked out the door, I saw the lights up and down the road," said Willis. "I stayed inside with my door locked, and that was it."

As the neighborhood is located in a County Island, MCSO is leading the investigation.

On Tuesday, FOX 10's Nicole Garcia spoke with Mendoza's family members, who said Mendoza was scared, and desperate not to go back to prison.

Mendoza was not supposed to have a gun, and could face additional charges, including kidnapping, theft, and aggravated assault.