Wanted fugitive captured north of Bell

By Carrie A. Mizell

Law enforcement officers from the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office worked with a task force of officers from the U.S. Marshal’s Office and the FBI last Thursday morning to apprehend a wanted fugitive north of Bell.
Ricardo Mendoza, 38, was found hiding in the bedroom of a Bell home located at 2970 NW 5th Street.
Authorities took him into custody around 4:15 a.m. and he is now being held at the Alachua County Jail on a $325,000 bond.
Mendoza was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping and false imprisonment and sexual assault with a weapon/sexual battery on victim 12 years of age or older.
The case dates back to 2007 and involves a female relative of Mendoza’s. While trying to avoid arrest, Mendoza reportedly traveled back and forth from Mexico to Florida.