IMPERIAL BEACH (CNS) - A suspect in a domestic disturbance in a South Bay neighborhood allegedly punched a responding deputy Friday, then holed up in a nearby apartment and fired a gun toward sheriff's personnel trying to take him into custody, prompting a nearly five-hour standoff that ended with his arrest.
The initial assault occurred as a patrolman was responding to reports of a loud argument in the 1400 block of 14th Street in Imperial Beach about 6:30 a.m., Lt. Mike Munsey said.
The deputy approached a suspect, who hit him and ran off, according to Munsey. Medics took the lawman to an emergency room for evaluation of apparently minor injuries.
The suspect, meanwhile, fled into a nearby rental residence on Holly Avenue. A retirement-age man who lives in the unit was able to escape unharmed.
The suspect refused orders to exit and surrender for about five hours, and at one point fired a shot out a front window toward deputies. No one was hurt.
As the stalemate continued, a special weapons and tactics team took up positions around the apartment, and deputies evacuated everyone out of a dozen nearby units and closed a stretch of the street in front of the complex.
The standoff continued into the late morning, by which point the suspect was speaking with crisis negotiators.
"We don't rush these things," Munsey said.
Shortly after 11:30 a.m., the man finally allowed himself to be taken into custody without further incident, a sheriff's dispatcher said. The suspect's name was not immediately available.