Standoff on Lincoln & Ocean Park ends in arrest
According to neighbors, deputies and a Sheriff's Department helicopter began surrounding the home, which sits across the street from an Albertson's supermarket, at approximately 11:57 a.m.
Matt Turner and Jeremy Levine live in the apartment complex overlooking the house and were startled by the sudden raid next door. "They were using megaphones," said Turner when describing how officers descended on the scene. "They said it was someone wanted for murdering their girlfriend."
"They were busting down doors and surrounding the area, they brought their cute little doggie," said Levine when describing the SWAT team and their canines.
The stand off lasted several hours as a SWAT team arrived to surround the home and prepare to capture the suspect. A large crowd of bystanders gathered on the Albertson's parking lot to view the events as they unfolded.
Rumors swirled about who the suspect was or what motives were driving him. One woman who claimed to know the family of the house where the standoff was taking place refused to comment. Another man shouted at one of the officers, "I'm his cousin, he's not armed." He too refused to identify himself by name or give a comment.
As the standoff on Lincoln continued, the John Adams Middle School neighboring Santa Monica College was swarming with Sheriff's Department and Santa Monica Police officials and officers. The school had been converted into the operation's command center. Pearl Street itself was closed off by police for the duration of the standoff.
Shortly after 5:00 p.m. the SWAT team entered the home and soon appeared with the suspect limping with a bandaged right foot and apprehended. He appeared to be a Latino male in his late 20s. Tattoos marked his body.
As of this writing the Sheriff's Department's press office is waiting for the full details to issue an official statement. The Corsair will update this story as it develops.