Defendant Allegedly Drove Stolen SUV at the Officers, Striking One
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx teenager has been indicted on Attempted Murder and Assault for allegedly using a stolen SUV to target two New York City Police Officers.
District Attorney Clark said, “This defendant, allegedly in an apparent attempt to evade a police traffic stop while driving an SUV that was reported stolen, ignored repeated demands to exit the vehicle and instead accelerated directly into the path of two officers. Thankfully the officers were not seriously hurt. We will hold accountable those who would seek to harm our police officers.”
District Attorney Clark said that defendant Jayden Mendoza, 18, of Lacombe Avenue, the Bronx, was arraigned on two counts of Attempted Murder in the first-degree, two counts of Attempted Assault in the first-degree, two counts of second-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, two counts of second-degree Assault and third-degree Criminal Possession of Stolen Property by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Sam David. He was remanded. He is due back in court September 25, 2026.
According to the investigation, at approximately 5:30 p.m. on June 21, 2026, a Kia Sportage reported stolen two days earlier was picked up by a license plate reader as it crossed University Heights Bridge, from Manhattan into the Bronx. Shortly thereafter,six unmarked NYPD vehicles surrounded the stolen Kia when it stopped at the intersection of East Fordham Road and Webster Avenue. NYPD Sergeant Yousef Abdallah and Officer Nicholas Gluth exited their vehicle and approached the Kia and instructed the defendant, who was behind the wheel, to get out of the car. Mendoza ignored those commands and allegedly accelerated the car directly into the path of Sgt. Abdallah and Officer Gluth. Sgt. Abdallah was struck by the Kia. Officer Gluth avoided being hit, jumped onto the hood of a parked car and fired three shots into the windshield of the Kia, striking Mendoza three times. Sgt Abdallah was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital to receive treatment for a laceration to the back of his head. Mendoza was rushed to the hospital and underwent emergency surgery for gunshot wounds to his abdomen, right arm and right leg. A search warrant later executed on the Kia uncovered a loaded semi-automatic firearm in a bag in the back seat.
District Attorney Clark also thanked NYPD’s Force Investigation Division for their work in the investigation.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
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