Two people arrested after shooting and short chase – Red Bluff Daily News

Pictured is Silas, the police dog of the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office. (Post)

Two men were arrested Saturday afternoon following two reported shootings and a brief chase in the Red Bluff area that ended at a cornhole tournament.

According to the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office, deputies along with officers from the Red Bluff Police Department, California Highway Patrol and Cal Fire Police responded to a report of a shooting on Adobe Road in north Red Bluff.

According to a Facebook post from the TCSO, officers were checking the area when they discovered shell casings on the street near a residence that had bullet holes in the front of the house. The release also said officers determined an unknown suspect had fired shots at a home with a 9mm handgun and then followed a lead to a suspect.

While officers were following up on that lead, another call came in about a shooting, this time not far from the original crime scene off Adobe Road. According to officers, the reporting officer said the vehicle and occupants were the same as those in the first shooting.

Shortly after the call, Red Bluff police and the California Highway Patrol arrived on the scene. According to TCSO, those officers relayed a partial license plate number to the vehicle and indicated which direction it was traveling.

Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver allegedly failed to heed the patrol cars’ hazard lights and sirens. The occupants reportedly led officers on a high-speed chase through a small neighborhood in Red Bluff.

The pursuit eventually ended when both occupants of the vehicle fled from officers on foot. According to TCSO, one of the lead vehicles was a police dog. The two suspects reportedly fled to a local restaurant where a cornhole tournament was taking place that was well attended, including many children.

According to TCSO, the dog handler recognized the threat and released K9 Silas to apprehend the suspects, later identified as Ben Meister and Eric Mendiola.

According to TCSO, both men sustained minor injuries when Silas arrested them. No other injuries were reported as a result of the pursuit or shooting.

Both men were taken into custody and booked into the Tehama County Jail on charges including child endangerment, shooting into an occupied structure, illegal possession of a firearm, resisting a police dog, assault on a peace officer and other charges.

The Tehama County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Red Bluff Police Department, California Highway Patrol and CalFire Police for their assistance in this investigation and thanked local citizens for their assistance in apprehending the suspects.