HIGHLAND – A nine-hour standoff with a possibly armed 15-year-old male ended when a K-9 was sent into an apartment to locate him and get him under control on Friday afternoon.
The unidentified Hispanic juvenile suspect was injured when the K-9 unit found him in the attic, suffering minor bite wounds from the dog.
Detective Donald Patton said the 15-year-old was taken into custody without further incident.
Deputies were called to the apartment complex at 7372 Elm St. at 1:15 p.m. when a neighbor spotted the suspect jumping a fence into the patio area of the apartment. Reports stated the neighbor saw a gun falling from the suspect’s waistband. “The citizen reported that … the suspect was seen in the apartment with the handgun,” said Patton, “and he refused to come out.”
The suspect was not a resident of that apartment complex, he said. The neighbor said the juvenile was wanted by police for an unrelated hit-and-run traffic collision one week earlier.
When deputies arrived at the scene, they were able to determine the juvenile’s identity, also learning that he had an active No Bail warrant and was currently on formal juvenile probation in San Bernardino County.
Patton said additional investigation revealed that the suspect had ran from probation officers and “was previously seen with a handgun.”
Deputies were unable to make contact with the 15-year-old and county SWAT team was assembled to maintain a perimeter around the complex, which reportedly had a tunnel system leading from various apartments, according to reports.
Residents were evacuated for their safety during the nine-hour standoff. Deputies were unable to lure the suspect out of the apartment using various tactics. After nine hours, SWAT personnel entered the apartment, but were unable to locate the suspect.
San Bernardino Police deployed its K9 unit into the apartment, locating the suspect in the attic. Fire department personnel treated the suspect for the dog bite wounds on the scene, later transporting him to the hospital by deputies for additional treatment. Deputies did not discover a weapon after searching the apartment.
When the 15-year-old was medically cleared from the hospital, he was taken to San Bernardino County Juvenile Hall, charged with resisting arrest, trespassing and violation of his probation warrant.
