(BLACK FOREST, Colo.) — A suspect who ran from the scene of an incident involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Black Forest over the summer remains at large, according to officials.
FOX21 News reached out to ICE’s Denver office for an update on Jose Mendez-Chavez, who was inside a car that allegedly tried to ram an ICE vehicle during an incident on July 31 on Burgess Road in Black Forest. ICE was in the area conducting targeted enforcement, and when they were met with aggression from Mendez-Chavez, opened fire on his car.
Mendez-Chavez and his passenger, Francisco Zapata-Pacheco, both abandoned the car and ran from the scene, though Zapata-Pacheco was apprehended later that afternoon. Mendez-Chavez has remained at large since the incident.
According to ICE Denver, Mendez-Chavez was a previously convicted felon who had re-entered the U.S. illegally multiple times.
According to FOX News, Mendez-Chavez was previously convicted in Ohio of domestic violence and was sentenced to 180 days in jail in 2013. Most recently, Mendez-Chavez was arrested for reckless endangerment and child abuse in 2019 in Colorado Springs. According to court papers, he pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment in 2020.
Mendez-Chavez is currently wanted on new charges of attempted assault on a federal officer. ICE Denver asks anyone with information on Mendez-Chavez or his whereabouts to contact the anonymous tip line at 866-DHS-2-ICE.
