Escondido

A despondent 28-year-old man surrendered to police Monday morning after being holed up in his home for eight hours and reportedly asking that police shoot and kill him.

For a short period, the man held his wife, his brother and his mother at gunpoint, Escondido police reported.

Police Sgt. Jerry Ford said Rick Eaton, of the 400 block of Blueridge Place, gave himself up after spending two hours on the telephone with police hostage negotiator Kathy Gaylor, who talked him into surrendering.

The incident began about 2 a.m. Monday when Eaton’s brother was freed by Eaton, went to a neighbor’s house and reported that Eaton had his wife and mother in a bedroom and was armed with a handgun, shotgun and rifle, according to neighbor Ida Amos.

Eaton was intoxicated at the time, police said. He was said to be despondent, but police gave no further details.

As many as six shots were heard from inside the house, but Eaton released his wife and mother without injury about 2:30 a.m. “One of them told us that he (Eaton) didn’t want to hurt anybody but he wanted an officer to shoot him,” Ford said.

The sheriff’s Special Enforcement Detail arrived a short time later and its 12 to 15 members took positions around the house and on neighboring rooftops. Neighbors were told about 4 a.m. to either leave the area or stay in their homes for the duration of the incident.

There was no attempt to raid the house or call Eaton before 8:30 a.m., Ford said. “We thought he might be asleep and we wanted him to wake up with a clear head,” Ford said.

Eaton surrendered peacefully about 10:30 a.m.