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Daniel Nunez Mendozo, of Woodbridge, has been charged with felony eluding, felony hit and run, reckless driving, driving suspended, no insurance, and fictitious registration, in connection with the Wednesday, Aug. 30 incident, Stafford County Sheriff David Decatur said.
Lieutenant D.T. Diggs was heading southbound on I-95 near the 141 mile-marker when he saw a black Mercedes on the shoulder behind him approaching at a high rate of speed around 12:25 p.m. First Sergeant W.T, Johnson was also heading south on I-95 on his marked Harley Davidson, just ahead of Lt. Diggs.
The Mercedes driver appeared to notice the law enforcement motorcycle and entered the flow of traffic in front of Lt. Diggs’ unmarked patrol vehicle. As he pulled even with First Sgt. Johnson, both deputies activated their emergency equipment to conduct a traffic stop. Mendozo looked over at First Sgt. Johnson, smirked, and rapidly accelerated to initiate a pursuit, Decatur said.
Mendozo sped up to over 110 mph using the shoulder again in his attempt to escape justice. As deputies set up further South to deploy spike strips, Mendozo took the Centreport Parkway exit and headed west toward Mountain View Road, police said. The suspect was evidently unfamiliar with the road and took the 90 degree curve too quickly and struck an oncoming car, disabling the Mercedes.
The driver and passenger fled from the damaged vehicle, but a perimeter was quickly established, drone was on the way and our K-9 teams hit the ground running. Within five minutes, as K-9 Titan closed in, both the driver and passenger were in custody.
Mendoza was held without bond and his booking photo shows no evidence of the previous smirk.
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