Mario Jose Fuentes-Mendez, 25, of Middle River
Mario Jose Fuentes-Mendez, 25, of Middle River, has been charged with fraud-personal identity to avoid prosecution after Maryland State Police said he gave false names during traffic stops in St. Mary’s County.
The charge stems from a June 4, 2026, traffic stop on Three Notch Street in Lexington Park. According to the allegation, a Maryland State Police trooper stopped a black Chevrolet Colorado at about 7:50 p.m. because the vehicle’s third brake light was not working when activated. The driver told the trooper he did not have a driver’s license or any identification and provided a name authorities later determined was false.
The trooper reported recognizing the driver from a prior traffic stop on December 27, 2025, when a citation had been issued for driving a motor vehicle on a highway without the required license and authorization. After the person cited in that earlier stop did not appear in court, a bench warrant was issued, according to the filing.
Police said the trooper reviewed body camera footage from the earlier stop and confirmed the warrant was active. During a second conversation on June 4, the driver allegedly said he remembered the December 2025 traffic stop and had given the trooper a false name at that time. He was taken into custody at 8:17 p.m. on the active warrant.
During transport, Fuentes-Mendez allegedly told the trooper that both names previously provided were false and that Mario Jose Fuentes-Mendez was his real identity. The trooper wrote that Fuentes-Mendez said he gave false names during both traffic stops “to avoid paying the citations.” He also allegedly said a prior traffic stop elsewhere in Maryland had resulted in about $4,700 in costs and that he “did not want to incur more monetary loss.”
Authorities said one of the identities used belonged to a cousin living in Honduras, while the other was fictitious. After Fuentes-Mendez was taken to the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center, police said fingerprinting did not produce a positive identification because he had not been fingerprinted before. Investigators then contacted his employer, who helped obtain a photo of Fuentes-Mendez’s Honduran passport, which police said confirmed his identity.
Fuentes-Mendez was charged with knowingly and willfully assuming another identity to avoid identification, apprehension or prosecution. At an initial appearance on June 5, 2026, he waived an attorney for that hearing only and was released on a $500 unsecured personal bond. He was ordered not to engage in criminal activity and to appear in court when notified.
