Charles Co. Patrol officers arrest suspect in burglary case

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On February 28, patrol officers responded to the 9200 block of Kris Drive in White Plains for the report of a burglary in progress. When officers arrived, they observed the residents running from the house. A preliminary investigation showed the suspect initially approached a woman who was standing outside of a house and asked if he could go inside; the suspect was armed with two large knives at the time. The woman told the suspect to leave, at which time he dropped the knives and then ran to another house where he forcibly broke in. Once inside, the suspect walked upstairs and began breaking items. The occupants fled and called 9-1-1. Officers established a perimeter and were able to deescalate the situation; the suspect surrendered without further incident. The suspect, Michael Santa Mendez, age 42, of White Plains, was charged with third-degree burglary, fourth-degree burglary, and malicious destruction of property. Mendez was released by a district court commissioner on personal recognizance on March 1. Officer Giroux is investigating.

Michael Mendez


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The CCSO was accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) in 2001 and has since earned the highest rating of Excellence. Established in 1658, the CCSO is one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the United States. For more information, visit www.ccso.us. Charles County Crime Solvers offers rewards of up to $1,000 for information that leads to the arrest or indictment of a person responsible for a crime in Charles County. All individuals who provide tips through Crime Solvers will remain anonymous. Anyone with information about an unsolved crime or the location of a fugitive may contact Charles County Crime Solvers by calling 1-866-411-TIPS. Tips can also be submitted online at www.charlescountycrimesolvers.com or by using the P3Intel mobile app, which can be found in the Android Store and Apple Store by searching P3tips. For more information about the P3 program, click on this link: www.p3intel.com.

Disclaimer: In the U.S.A., all persons accused of a crime by the State are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. See: https://so.md/presumed-innocence. Additionally, all of the information provided above is solely from the perspective of the respective law enforcement agency and does not provide any direct input from the accused or persons otherwise mentioned. You can find additional information about the case by searching the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Database using the accused's name and date of birth. The database is online at https://so.md/mdcasesearch . Persons named who have been found innocent or not guilty of all charges in the respective case, and/or have had the case ordered expunged by the court can have their name, age, and city redacted by following the process defined at https://so.md/expungeme.