6-hour mobile home park standoff ends with surrender

SANTA PAULA — A 24 year-old man surrendered to police after a six-hour standoff last weekend that began when authorities tried to arrest him on a parole violation.

Jacob “Malo” Escobedo gave himself up to Santa Paula police late on the night of Sept. 21 following the armed standoff with officers attempting to serve a parole warrant on him.

Jacob “Malo” Escobedo

According to Santa Paula police Chief Steve MacKinnon, a $1,000 reward had been offered for Escobedo’s arrest by Ventura County Crime Stoppers as “a person of interest in a broad daylight shooting two weeks ago.”

Isidro Alaniz, 28, had been shot to death in a Santa Paula alley just after noon on Sept. 13, and Escobedo had been sought by authorities in connection with that incident. Escobedo has multiple criminal convictions to his name, including 2005 convictions for forgery, resisting arrest, and numerous misdemeanor drug-related convictions.

When officers arrived at the mobile home park residence where Escobedo was reported to be living, Escobedo refused to exit the residence, claiming to have a gun in his possession.

“A number of people were in the home at the time,” said MacKinnon, “including children.”

Negotiations between Escobedo and Santa Paula police began at approximately 5:30 p.m. and continued well into the night of the 21st, with more than 50 residents of the mobile home park evacuated during the standoff. Following protracted communication with Escobedo, he surrendered to authorities just after 11 p.m. that Sunday.