Man allegedly stole gun out of vehicle, stood off with Salinas Police

Salinas Police say a man who was previously deported from the country has been arrested after allegedly stealing a gun out of someone’s vehicle and standing off with responding officers.

Just before 5 PM on Saturday, August 8, the victim, who was visiting from out of state, called police from the 1600 block of First Avenue to report someone had gone through his truck and stolen the firearm he had secured inside.

The victim confronted the suspect, later identified as 31-year-old Ernesto Rodriguez Orellana, who is a tenant of the building, but ended up calling police after Orellana refused to give the gun back. At some point after that, Orellana reportedly barricaded himself inside a garage on the property.

Responding officers tried for several hours to negotiate Orellana’s surrender before finally calling in Hostage Negotiation and SWAT teams.

After several more hours, during which Orellana allegedly threatened to get into a shootout with police, SWAT agents gained access to the garage. Orellana, who had dropped the gun, tried to re-arm himself but was shot with a rubber bullet and quickly taken into custody.

Police say the entire incident lasted over 8 hours, finally coming to an end around 1:30 AM.