HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — A man who went to trial for drug possession, resisting arrest and eluding police pleaded guilty before a verdict could be reached.
On Friday in the Superior Court of Guam, Perry Anthony Mendiola pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a high-speed chase with Guam Police Department officers in June 2022 that resulted in police finding methamphetamine in Mendiola’s possession.
According to a press release from the Office of the Attorney General, Mendiola was on trial for the charges. However, he pleaded guilty to possession of a Schedule II controlled substance as a third-degree felony and resisting arrest and eluding a police officer as misdemeanors before a verdict could be reached.
“The AG’s office recognizes and respects Mr. Mendiola’s taking full responsibility for his criminal behavior before a jury issued its verdict. We encourage others to do likewise: to start their paths to drug treatment, reform and reentry into our community as law-abiding and productive Guamanians,” the release stated.
Mendiola was subsequently sentenced to three years in prison for the charges.
Chase
Mendiola’s charging documents state that at about 2:25 a.m. on June 2, 2022, a GPD officer saw a motorcycle speeding on Route 4 in Chalan Pago, and the officer attempted to pull over the vehicle.
The motorcycle, however, sped up and attempted to elude police and reached about 100 mph in the chase, which went through several villages before the motorcycle stopped, the magistrate’s complaint stated.
Mendiola was subsequently identified as the operator but refused to cooperate with officers. He struggled as police tried to place hand restraints on him before officers used a Taser to subdue him. According to court documents, police found several plastic baggies of methamphetamine in Mendiola’s possession.
“The crimes committed by Mr. Mendiola involving meth and speeding could easily have killed an innocent driver, passenger and/or pedestrian. This ‘tough on crime’ AG’s office will make every criminal, especially meth addicts, realize that the long arm of the law always prevails,” the AG’s press release stated.
Perry Anthony Mendiola
