Man who shot at an officer and a California police drone is sentenced to 36 years

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A Whittier man who shot at a law enforcement officer and an unmanned police drone during a more than eight-hour standoff at a Costa Mesa building was sentenced Tuesday to 36 years and four months in prison, court records show.

Luis Mendez Jr., 51, was convicted earlier this year of assault with a deadly weapon against a special agent, among other charges, for shooting, but not hitting, a state firearms office agent during the Oct. 5, 2022 confrontation in the 1700 block of Monrovia Avenue.

Prosecutors in a sentencing brief wrote that agents were searching firearms that had been registered at the address of a residence and business used by Mendez even though he was prohibited from possessing such weapons due to a domestic violence conviction of 2017.

Prosecutors wrote that Mendez shot an officer with a .308 bullet from a rifle as the officer prepared to break down a door after Mendez ignored authorities’ attempts to identify himself.

Mendez later fired three bullets from a shotgun at a drone, according to court documents.

At one point during the confrontation, Mendez texted a friend: “I had to shoot in self-defense,” according to a probation report. He surrendered after authorities used tear gas to remove him from the building.

Law enforcement officers recovered a rifle, a shotgun and several handguns. No injuries were reported.

A defense lawyer, in his own sentencing brief, asked the judge for a lesser sentence of 8 years in prison.

The defense wrote that there was no evidence that Mendez intended to hit anyone and noted that he had more firepower at his disposal that he did not use during the confrontation.

See more at East Bay Times

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