Hermiston Man Arrested with Machete, Handgun

A Hermiston man claiming to have a bomb in his vehicle was stopped near the Morrow and Gilliam county line Tuesday after running over police spike strips.

According to the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office, Adolfo Martin Mendez-Lopez was charged with reckless driving and attempting to elude law enforcement officers. Around 3 p.m., the sheriff’s office received a report of a Ford utility vehicle driving erratically, heading west on Interstate 84 near the Morrow and Umatilla county line.

Sheriff’s deputies and Boardman police attempted to stop the vehicle near Boardman, but the suspect refused to stop. Spike strips were set up in the westbound lanes of I-84 near the Morrow County line. Mendez-Lopez finally stopped about a half mile after running over the spike strips.

According to the sheriff’s office, Mendez-Lopez claimed to have a bomb in his vehicle. No bomb was found, but deputies found a machete, a loaded handgun and a large kitchen knife. He was arrested and lodged in the Umatilla County Jail.