VENTURA COUNTY — In the interests of dealing with California’s serious jail and prison overcrowding situation, it may be time to go on the record with the concept that some people should really consider enrolling in a course of therapeutic anger management.
One who might give that option to violence a thought is 72-year-old Raymond Williams, a resident of Simi Valley who, on the afternoon of January 3rd, apparently “lost it.”
According to the description of events provided to the media by Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Craig Duncan, Williams “got into an argument with his nephew, assaulting him with a baseball bat and brandishing a handgun” in the front yard of his house.
Upon receipt of 911 Emergency calls alerting police to the violence, Simi Valley Police Department’s SWAT and Crisis Negotiation Team quickly responded to the scene, only to discover Williams had barricaded himself inside the residence and failed to respond to verbal contact by law enforcement.
The standoff persisted for approximately five hours, during which Williams’ neighbors were evacuated and “temporarily relocated” to the Simi Valley Police Department for their own safety.
Duncan, serving at a nearby elementary school command center, noted that “about 26 officers had been deployed” to the Williams residence, as well as a Ventura County Sheriff’s Air Unit. At approximately 10:00 p.m. on the 3rd, Williams finally surrendered himself to authorities.
He was taken into custody and transported to Ventura County Jail, where he was booked on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and domestic violence.
