Visalia standoff ends with suspect in custody

VISALIA – After eight hours, a standoff between the Visalia SWAT team and a man who had barricaded himself inside a garage ended peacefully.

At 3:20 a.m. on Thursday morning, the Visalia Police Department received a 911 call from a female victim who said that she had been assaulted and bound with duct tape by her boyfriend. She also said that her boyfriend, 35-year-old Michael Nash, had threatened to kill her.

Michael Nash arrested after SWAT Team standoff

According to police, the victim and Nash had been arguing at their residence on West Whitendale Avenue all night when the alleged assault happened. At some point, the victim was able to convince her boyfriend to free her from the duct tape and they went to bed. After Nash fell asleep, the victim fled the house and called the police from a neighbor’s house.

Police arrived at the scene and attempted to make contact with the suspect.

“At that time he barricaded himself first in a bedroom, exited through a bedroom window, and then barricaded himself inside a detached garage,” said Visalia Police Sgt. Amy Watkins.

Once the suspect had locked himself in the garage, the Visaila SWAT team was deployed to the scene. Police believed that the suspect was armed.

After approximately six more hours, members from the SWAT team entered the garage and found the suspect in some type of medical distress, which has not been disclosed. The suspect was detained and taken by ambulance to Kaweah Delta Medical Center. Officers are in place at the hospital while the suspect is being cared for.

Nash is currently on parole for assault with a deadly weapon, Watkins said. The Visalia Police Department plans to charge Nash with criminal threats, false imprisonment, domestic battery, and resisting arrest.

Read More:

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