Suspect Was Found Hiding in the Attic
SALINAS—The Salinas Police have arrested another gang member after what seemed to be a simple traffic stop, but turned into a standoff with Salinas Police SWAT Team on Saturday.
On Saturday afternoon two Salinas Police Officers were on patrol in the area of Freedom Parkway and Cougar Drive when they noticed a Silver 2009 Toyota Tundra commit a minor traffic violation.
The officers tried to get the vehicle to stop but the driver, later identified as 29-year-old Salinas resident Luis Edgar Garcia, did not stop. A vehicle pursuit then ensued. Garcia stalled the vehicle on Freedom Parkway but did not obey the Officer’s commands to exit the vehicle; instead he kept attempting to restart the vehicle. When he was able to get the car started, the pursuit started again.
Garcia led the two officers on a half mile chase that ended at Bobcat Way and Antelope Drive, and then exited the vehicle and ran. Officers established a perimeter around the area.
Garcia was seen entering a relative’s house on the 1500 block of Antelope Drive. Officers learned that he was possibly armed with a handgun. They surrounded the house on Antelope Drive and the Salinas SWAT team was called in to Assist.
“The standoff lasted for over seven hours. We used the public address system (P.A.) to call out to Garcia to get him to surrender peacefully.” Salinas Police Sergeant Eulalio Villegas Jr. wrote in a press release, “After seven hours with no response SWAT team made entry into the house and searched for Garcia.”
They found him hiding the attic where he was arrested. He was transported and booked into the Monterey County Jail on multiple charges.
