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Man convicted of attack on Ventura County CHP officer

The Santa Barbara man could face up to 15 years in state prison.

A Santa Barbara man is facing a potential 15-year state prison sentence after being convicted of attacking a CHP officer during a DUI arrest.

In October of 2024, Jesse Andrew Mendoza was stopped on Highway 101 in Ventura for speeding. The 20-year-old man was then arrested on a DUI charge.

While he was being taken to the CHP station, he slipped out of his handcuffs and attacked the officer driving the patrol unit. The officer was able to stop, and Mendoza fled on foot. He was caught and rearrested a few minutes later.

A Ventura County jury found Mendoza guilty of assault on a peace officer, resisting arrest, escaping from an officer, and DUI. He’ll be sentenced on September 16.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.