Man charged with firing gun from car in Mount Prospect

A 23-year-old man on parole for a 2013 robbery was ordered held on $225,000 bail Thursday after authorities say he fired a gun out of his car in Mount Prospect.

Jose Mendoza, 23, of Bellwood, fired shots on the 100 block of Wimbolton Drive after his ex-girlfriend refused to speak to him. No one was injured.

A witnesses reported seeing a red Mercury Mountaineer drive down the block with the passenger firing a handgun out the window several times, authorities said. The officers were unable to locate the Mercury, but found multiple 9 mm shell casings on Wimbolton Drive.

A witness was also interviewed and identified the offender as Mendoza, authorities said.

Two days later, authorities said a Mount Prospect patrol officer observed a black Toyota turning onto Euclid Avenue from Wimbolton Drive at about 3 p.m. and the officer recognized the passenger of the vehicle as possibly being Mendoza.

Police stopped the vehicle near the intersection of Golf and Elmhurst roads, and Mendoza was confirmed as the passenger, authorities said. He was taken into custody without incident.

Mendoza later admitted to firing a handgun multiple times into the air on Wimbolton Drive, police said.

Mendoza, who also has a misdemeanor domestic battery case pending, was charged with reckless discharge of a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon by a parolee. If convicted of the most serious charge, Mendoza faces up to seven years in prison.