Highway 14 drive-by shooting suspect arrested

Police say the suspect in a drive-by shooting on Highway 14 in Mankato has been arrested.

On Monday at 9:45 p.m. the Mankato Department of Public Safety responded to a report of a suspicious man in a vehicle in a parking lot in the area of Good Counsel Dr and Riverfront Dr.

Police say the person who called in the report to 911 then drove away.  A press release says the victim left the area going north on Riverfront, then westbound on Highway 14.  That’s when he noticed the suspect in a vehicle alongside him, according to the release.  The victim then heard a noise that sounded like a gunshot.  Police say his vehicle had damage consistent with a bullet hole.

The victim wasn’t injured and was able to provide a description and license plate number of the suspect’s vehicle.

North Mankato officers found the vehicle a short time later and conducted a traffic stop.

Police say the driver, Joshua Raymond Armendariz, 43, of Mankato was taken into custody.  A stolen weapon was located inside the vehicle, according to investigators.

Armendariz has a lengthy criminal history, including felony convictions for threats of violence, fleeing police, domestic assault, violating a no-contact order, drug possession, receiving stolen property, and 3rd-degree assault.