GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Goodyear police are asking the public for tips as they look for a man they say prompted an evacuation at a Walmart on Friday when he threatened his girlfriend with a gun and then kidnapped a driver at gunpoint to get away.
Police said officers responded to a disturbance call at Walmart near Interstate 10 and Estrella Parkway early Friday morning.
Officers learned 34-year-old Christopher Mendoza had threatened his girlfriend with a gun inside the store.
Police said Mendoza was uncooperative and reached for a gun when officers contacted him.
He ran out of the store and into a nearby neighborhood, where he kidnapped a man in a car at gunpoint and demanded a ride to Litchfield Road and MC85 in Avondale, police said.
Mendoza is wanted on several charges, including aggravated assault on police, threatening and intimidating, threatening leading to an evacuation, kidnapping and disorderly conduct.
He is described as a 5-foot-5 to 5-foot-7 Hispanic man with a tattoo under his right eye and another tattoo that reads "Cashion" on his neck.
Mendoza is considered armed and dangerous. If you have any information, call Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS (948-6377). A $1,000 cash reward is being offered.
