Man shot by off-duty officer after alleged robbery, abduction facing criminal charges

DAYTON — A man shot by an off-duty Kettering police officer after allegedly robbing a store and adducting a person is facing criminal charges.

Enrique Mendez, 24, of Dayton, was indicted by a Montgomery County grand jury on two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of kidnapping, improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, and criminal damaging, according to Montgomery County Common Pleas Court records.

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Mendez was initially charged in Kettering Municipal Court on Oct. 10.

On Oct. 8, Mendez entered La Tapatia, a grocery store on Burkart Avenue in Riverside, with a handgun. He allegedly proceeded to go behind the sales counter and rob the store, according to a statement of facts. He reportedly fired one shot from behind the counter.

From there, he approached a man and ordered him to give over his money and cell phone. Mendez, who remained armed, made the man drive his own vehicle to Meijer on Wilmington Pike. Police previously said the he abducted a woman, but court records indicate the victim was a man.

At the grocery store, Mendez ordered the victim to remove $5,000 from his account. He also threatened the man and his family.

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“Defendant told the victim he knew who he was and he knows where he lives and if he didn’t get the money or called police, defendant would kill his family,” according to court records.

As News Center 7 previously reported, Kettering officers were called to the Meijer on reports of an armed robbery in progress.

Shortly after that, Kettering officers chased Mendez on foot. During the chase, an off-duty Kettering officer found the suspect and was confronted by him in a backyard on Tangent Drive.

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John Davis, with the Centerville Tactical Crime Suppression Unit, previously said that the officer gave Mendez commands, but was threatened with a weapon. At that time, the officer shot at and hit Mendez.

Mendez suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken into custody. He’s being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $500,000.

He’s scheduled to appear in court next on Oct. 24.

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