Police: Waterbury Man Attempted to Run Girlfriend Over at Lake Compounce

A Bristol Superior Court judge has ordered a Waterbury man held in lieu of a $25,000 bond after police said he attempted to run over his girlfriend with a car at Lake Compounce over the weekend.

Jose A. Mendez, of 265 Congress Ave. in Waterbury, was arraigned in Bristol Superior Court Monday on charges of second-degree assault, second-degree breach of peace and violation of a protective order stemming from a Saturday incident in the employee parking section of Lake Compounce.

Southington Police Sgt. Lowell DePalma said officers were called to the park around 11 a.m. Saturday morning after security personnel reported that one of the park staff members had just been hit by a car.

When officers arrived, they learned that a female employee had been hit and suffered leg injuries after a fight with her boyfriend as she dropped them off. She was taken to Waterbury Hospital by ambulance, DePalma said, and is expected to make a full recovery.

A police report said Mendez, 28, and the woman were fighting and shouting at one another when they arrived at the park. The two continued to fight as she got out of the car, security guards told officers, and Mendez began to drive away before stopping at the entrance, blocking the parking lot.

Security asked Mendez to move as the two continued to fight and eventually he got back in the car. Instead of driving away, however, police said Mendez drove at the woman. Security attempted to pull her out of the way, but Mendez struck her with is car.

Police said it appeared to have started as a result of a domestic dispute in which Mendez told officers he learned his girlfriend had been cheating on him.

Mendez is due back in Bristol Superior Court on July 6.