Police seeking Menifee woman for kidnapping, assault

Erin Quinn's vehicle crashed during her kidnapping by the suspect. (Photo via Erin Quinn Facebook page)

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Police are searching for a Menifee woman who assaulted another woman in the victim’s car and repeatedly tased her while ordering her to drive away from the location.

Erin Quinn, a resident of Temecula, posted on Facebook that she was responding to a message to pick up Christmas gifts for a toy drive about 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 18 in Winchester. After returning to her car, she was attacked by a female waiting for her in the back seat.

Quinn’s social media post stated that the suspect repeatedly pulled her hair and attacked her with a taser -- reportedly more than 30 times over a 25-minute period – while forcing her to drive away. According to Quinn, the suspect threatened that “my boys and mom would be next.”

The incident ended when Quinn crashed her car and continued trying to fight off the suspect before a man passing by saved her from the suspect, who fled the area. According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the incident ended in the area of Olive Avenue and Leon Road in Winchester.

“I have never had to fight so hard for my life!” wrote Quinn, who posted the next day that she spent the day in a local hospital with cuts and bruises, burns from the taser, and a quarter of her hair missing.

Quinn wrote that she recognized her attacker as Olga Mendez (left), “a former house cleaner” who is known to several women in the area who say they have been approached by Mendez for help. According to Quinn, Mendez disguised herself in a blonde wig.

According to Sheriff’s Lt. Deirdre Vickers, deputies responding to the site determined that a kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon had occurred. Vickers confirmed that the Sheriff’s Department has a warrant out for Mendez’ arrest.

Other women posted on Quinn’s Facebook page that they have been contacted by Mendez in the past, seeking odd jobs and asking for recyclables.

“[Mendez] has left our community feeling unsafe,” wrote Melissa Gillis Gutierrez. “There is so much more to this woman's story than just this vicious incident. She has wronged many people in this valley. It is heartbreaking to hear the trail of hurt she has caused.”

In addition to the Sheriff's Department warrant for Mendez on charges of kidnapping and assault, court records show many past violations, including fraud, forgery, and failure to appear in court.

A GoFundMe page has been created to assist Quinn. Detail can be found at this link:

Erin Quinn Go FundMe page

Jennifer Conklin, who created the page, wrote this on the website:

“Erin and her mother Sheila both helped Olga and her daughter out in the past with housing and money. Erin had not seen or spoken to this person in over nine months. This attack was premeditated as the person (Olga Mendez) started texting Erin the night before from an unknown number and did not identify herself. Olga pretended to offer toys for the toy drive and provided Erin with an address for pickup.”

Quinn did not respond to messages from Menifee 24/7 seeking comment.

Several people have posted photos of Mendez on Facebook. If anyone knows of her whereabouts, please contact the Riverside Sheriff’s Department at 951-776-1099.