Huntington Beach : Man Held After Siege, Threat to Explode Gas

A man who had threatened to blow up the building where he was hiding held Huntington Beach police at bay for five hours Wednesday before surrendering.

Officers said that Terrence T. Lindstrom, 37, an electrician, told them he had turned on a natural gas jet in the industrial building in the 16300 block of Gothard Street and was going to light a cigarette.

Firefighters, however, managed to shut off the gas supply at a valve outside the building and Lindstrom was eventually talked into giving himself up, said police spokeswoman Joanne Bergstrom.

The incident began about 12:30 a.m., Bergstrom said, when police received a call from a man who said he had severely beaten a woman at the Gothard Street address. Officers arriving there found Linda Landon, 37, described as Lindstrom’s girlfriend, suffering from a facial fracture and internal injuries. She was taken to Humana Hospital-Huntington Beach, where she was reported in fair condition.

In the meantime, Bergstrom said, the 6-foot-6, 220-pound Lindstrom, who works for an electrical firm in the building and lives with Landon in his van in the parking lot, had taken refuge inside the building.

“He told officers who called him on the phone that he would rather die than come out,” Bergstrom said. “He told them he had turned the gas on and was going to light a cigarette. The officers said they could hear a hissing sound in the background and that the man sounded like he was getting groggy.”

After firefighters turned off the gas, Bergstrom said, a negotiator began talking with Lindstrom and persuaded him to surrender at about 5:30 a.m.

Lindstrom was being held in Huntington Beach City Jail on charges of assault with intent to commit great bodily harm, Bergstrom said.