Four arrested in Meyers for terrorizing a man

Four men were arrested Sunday on suspicion of terrorizing a man who tried to get their license plate number.

According to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO), on Sunday, July 26, at 7:45 p.m., a resident of Meyers witnessed a car full of men pull up to the stop sign at the intersection of East San Bernardino Avenue and Apache Drive. He told deputies he saw them roll down a window and shoot what he thought a gun at the sign.

The same resident then said he witnessed the same car stop in front of a home in the 1100 block of Apache where he said a hand come out of the car with what looked like a hand gun and discharged it in the direction of the home.

This resident then got in his vehicle and followed the suspect's car to try and obtain their license plate number according to deputies. He followed the car as it turned onto Evelyn Way which is a dead end street off of Pioneer Trail.

The unidentified resident then called EDSO. The occupants of the suspect's car then got out and headed toward the reporting party's car. One of them pulled out a knife and opened the blade as they surrounded his car and threatened bodily injury.

EDSO said one man on the outside tried to open his back door, then told the others in his group to get in their car and block in the resident's car. The one remaining suspect then punched windows of the car and ran off into the woods.

When officers arrived they took the man's story and went to the 1200 block of Ottawa Drive to talk to the suspects. The four men were detained and interviewed. Based on the results of the interviews, deputies arrested the men.

Nicolas Avila, William Cooper and John Shattuck, all 21, were arrested on charges of terrorizing and threatening to commit a crime that would cause bodily injury. 19-year-old Christopher Mendonca was also charged on the additional charge of brandishing a weapon. As of Monday evening, all are currently in the El Dorado County Jail in South Lake Tahoe awaiting bail.

A BB/Pellet gun was found in their car but is not part of the charges against the suspects.

Crime stories by South Tahoe Now are based on media logs provided by the police and sheriff departments. We will not publish names involved in misdemeanors. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.