Man who rammed SUV into police charged with drug, gun crimes

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Alleged Dallas drug trafficker Angel Manuel Fuentes-Melendez, 23, was indicted with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and one count of possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. 

The indictments come after police say Fuentes-Melendez rammed his vehicle into a cop car during his arrest.

According to a criminal complaint filed previously, in mid-April, DEA agents instructed a confidential source to negotiate the purchase of five kilograms of meth from a Mexican drug supplier he knew through the chat application WhatsApp. The Mexican drug supplier directed the source to meet a local drug supplier – later identified as Fuentes – at a parking lot on Lombardy Lane in northwest Dallas.   

Early in the evening on April 14, teams observed Fuentes-Melendez’s black Lincoln SUV exit the parking lot of a nearby apartment complex and pull up behind the source’s vehicle, which was parked in the gas station lot. The source then exited his vehicle and approached Fuentes-Melendez’s vehicle to chat; while there, he observed methamphetamine in his back seat. 

Agents in covert police vehicles surrounded Fuentes-Melendez’s car, then activated their lights. Fuentes-Melendez placed the car in reverse and collided with the police car behind him, which at the time was flashing red and blue. 

Fuentes-Melendez was apprehended and transported to a police station, where he allegedly admitted that he was directed to deliver five kilograms of methamphetamine to the confidential source. He said he’d been receiving and delivering roughly 15 to 20 kilograms of meth per month for four to five months. 

Meanwhile, agents searched an apartment where Fuentes-Melendez was staying. There, they found 33 kilograms of crystal meth stashed in the bedroom and adjoining closet and a Ruger 9mm pistol placed on top of the dresser in plain view. 

Agents noted that three young toddlers were present and playing in the apartment at the time. 

If convicted, Fuentes-Melendez faces up to life in federal prison.