A suspected drug dealer led authorities recently on a pursuit that prompted deputies to arrest him—as well as his father, mother and girlfriend.
The chain of events began at about 10:20 p.m. July 14 when a sheriff’s deputy attempted to pull over a reckless driver in a truck near the area of East Palmdale Avenue and 20th Street East, Lt. Brian Dunn told City News Service.
The driver, who had a female passenger, did not comply with the deputy’s command to pull over and began speeding away, Dunn said.
The deputy observed a man and a woman inside the truck tossing items out the window that were later determined to be a cell phone, a scale believed to be used to measure narcotics and a white powdery substance that exploded on impact when it was tossed out, Dunn said.
Officers from the California Highway Patrol became involved in the pursuit near the area of 10th Street West and Rancho Vista Boulevard, Dunn said.
The suspect pulled into the parking lot of a Lowe’s home improvement center at 39500 Lowe’s Drive and surrendered to authorities, Dunn said.
Authorities took the driver and the passenger into custody. Dylan Walters, 19, was booked at the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station for suspicion of felony evading, said Palmdale Sheriff’s Lt. Belinda Johnson. His girlfriend, Malorie Aguilera, 24, was booked for suspicion of destroying evidence and an outstanding arrest warrant. Walters’ bail was set at $20,000. Aguilera’s bail was set at $5,000 but the arrest warrant means she cannot bail out.
During the arrest, Dunn said, the man’s mother arrived at the scene and tried to intervene. She ignored orders to wait until the arrests were complete and lunged toward deputies, who had their guns drawn at the time, he said.
The mother, identified as 38-year-old Kulanie Mendoza, was taken into custody for delaying arrest, according to jail officials. Her bail was set at $10,000, according to inmate records.
Authorities subsequently learned that the man was on probation and went to his home. Outside the home, authorities pulled over a man on a vehicle violation who turned out to be the father of the suspect now identified as Walters, according to Dunn.
The father allegedly admitted to being under the influence of methamphetamine, and allegedly had methamphetamine in the vehicle in quantities that were consistent with selling. Forty-nine-year-old Felix Mendoza was taken into custody for suspicion of possessing narcotics for sale and his bail was set at $30,000, according to Johnson and inmate booking information.
All four were being held at the Palmdale station jail, Dunn said.
They are scheduled for arraignment in the Antelope Valley courthouse on Monday, according to inmate information.
