Alleged NH Shooter Caught in Rhode Island

A man who was wanted by Queen City police for shooting a man in the leg on Prescott Street yesterday has been apprehended in Rhode Island.

Hezekiah Mendoza, 30, of Manchester, was arrested on Dec. 4, 2015, and charged with first-degree assault, a felony.

Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Manchester Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction. Click this link to find out how to get a name removed from a New Hampshire Patch police report.

At around 10:45 a.m. on Dec. 3, 2015, Manchester Police were sent to Prescott Street for a man who was suffering a gunshot wound.

When they arrived, they located the victim, a 34-year-old Manchester man, who has a serious but non-life threatening injury to his leg. The man told officers that he had been shot on Belmont Street and was transported to the hospital.

Both the victim’s home and the apartment where he was shot were secured and processed as crime scenes, according to police, and detectives worked to find a motive and possible suspect. A detective issued a warrant against Mendoza later that day on the first-degree assault charge, according to a report.

At around 5:45 p.m. on Dec. 4, Manchester’s Special Enforcement Division and Providence Police were able to capture Mendoza.

“Mendoza was found at a residence on Western Street in Providence, RI, and taken into custody without incident,” according to Det. Sgt. Kenneth Loui. “During a search, Providence Police seized seven firearms, five of which have been confirmed to be stolen from various jurisdictions throughout the state of New Hampshire – to include Manchester, Bristol and Franklin.”

Police are asking anyone with information about Mendoza that might help the investigation into the shooting or the gun thefts to contact Detective Michael Lavallee Manchester Police at 603-668-8711.

According to posts online, Mendoza was arrested 18 months ago in Auburn for allegedly stealing flat screen televisions and possession of drugs. In 2011, he, along with two other people, allegedly robbed a Manchester man at a trailer park. In 2010, he was indicted in Belknap County Superior Court for possession of crack with intent to distribute and possession of crack, after being arrested in Tilton. In 2011, he was found guilty on the drug charges.