Sheriff: BC man arrested after racing ATV at chief deputy on county road

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Photo: Edward John Mendoza   

A Baxter County man has been arrested, after he allegedly raced an all terrain vehicle (ATV) directly at a sheriff’s deputy on County Road 43 Wednesday afternoon.

Sheriff John Montgomery says 69-year-old Edward John Mendoza of Gamaliel has been charged with a felony count of aggravated assault.

Before being taken into custody, Sheriff Montgomery says Mendoza left the scene of the incident, and a short time later, gunfire was heard coming from the direction of what was believed to be the Gamaliel man’s residence. Approximately 40 rounds were fired.

Montgomery says the situation began just before 1, when Chief Deputy Captain Jeff Lewis was in the 4500 block of CR 43 with a jail inmate work crew, having just finished mowing the Williams Cemetery. While standing outside the work van, Captain Lewis heard an ATV approaching.

When the operator of the ATV, later identified as Mendoza, rounded the curve and came within view of Captain Lewis and the sheriff’s office work van, which Montgomery says is fully marked as a law enforcement vehicle, he skidded to a stop in the middle of the roadway.

Captain Lewis tried to motion Mendoza to continue forward, but he refused to move. As Captain Lewis began to walk toward Mendoza, who was about 50 feet away, the Gamaliel man reached into his front waistband and appeared to be trying to either conceal or retrieve something. He was wearing jeans and was shirtless. Captain Lewis ordered Mendoza to show his hands, and he complied.

Lewis, wearing a standard sheriff’s office administration uniform with badge and patches clearly visible, verbally identified himself as being a deputy and asked Mendoza where he was going on the ATV and why he was operating it on the public roadway.

Mendoza stated he was “going fishing at the lake” and that he lived back up the road. Captain Lewis told Mendoza he had been acting as though he was retrieving a firearm or something when reaching into his waistband, and Mendoza acknowledged verbally that he had a firearm in his possession. However, Lewis did not see a firearm.

Following a brief conversation, Mendoza said, “I’ve had enough of this” and re-started the ATV. He rapidly accelerated the ATV forward on the roadway, purposely continuously fishtailing, throwing rocks and gravel on Lewis and the work van as he passed.

Lewis advised dispatch of the need for additional deputies in an attempt to locate Mendoza. About two minutes later, the ATV could be heard returning in Lewis’ direction. The chief deputy stood in the roadway in an attempt to stop and detain Mendoza.

However, the Gamaliel man proceeded east at an extremely high rate of speed on the ATV, charging straight toward Lewis. The officer jumped from the roadway, with Mendoza racing past at extreme speed, without slowing.

He apparently returned to his residence.

While waiting for other deputies to arrive, Captain Lewis began hearing the gunfire coming from the area of Mendoza’s residence. Several rounds would be fired at once, then a brief interlude, and then more rounds would be fired. The final volley could be heard striking limbs in the general vicinity of Captain Lewis and the jail inmate work crew.

Once deputies arrived, they quickly made contact with Mendoza at his residence.

In addition to the felony count, Mendoza faces misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and operating an ATV on a public roadway.

He was released from the Baxter County Detention Center Wednesday afternoon, after posting $15,000 bond. He is set to appear in Baxter County Circuit Court later this month.

Seven sheriff’s deputies and a wildlife officer with Arkansas Game and Fish responded to the area.

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