Mesa County Sheriff identifies Red Roof Inn shooter in Grand Junction

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday evening that an arrest has been made following an officer-involved shooting at the Red Roof Inn earlier this week.

The suspect and gunshot victim in Tuesday’s officer-involved shooting is 28-year-old Joseph Mendez. Mendez was wounded after Grand Junction Police officers responded to the inn to investigate a domestic violence complaint, and the situation escalated.

Upon realizing the police were at his door, authorities say that Mendez took off and led police on a short foot chase before being shot by law enforcement. Mendez was then taken to a hospital for treatment before being released and arrested.

Police say that Mendez is currently being held at the Mesa County Detention Facility and is facing the following charges:

One felony count of menacing.
One felony count of possession of a weapon by a previous offender.
Three misdemeanor counts of protection order violations.
Three misdemeanor counts of violating bail bond conditions and failure to appear.
One misdemeanor count of theft.
One misdemeanor count of resisting arrest.

The investigation by the Critical Incident Response Team is still ongoing, and the sheriff’s office says that there may be additional charges as the investigation progresses.

A holster and pair of glasses abandoned by the suspect sit by the threshold of a Red Roof Inn... — A holster and pair of glasses abandoned by the suspect sit by the threshold of a Red Roof Inn room.(David Jones)

The investigation is being performed by CIRT, a multi-discipline and multi-agency organization geared to provide an independent investigation.

All officers involved in the shooting have been put on paid administrative leave, and the GJPD is responsible for releasing the names of involved officers.

No other information was released by authorities.

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This story is still developing. More information will be released as it becomes available.