He Endures Tear Gas but Comes Out for a Smoke : Barricaded Man Captured After 24-Hour Siege

An armed, 45-year-old Anaheim man with a history of mental illness barricaded himself inside his home for almost 24 hours and withstood a barrage of tear gas before police lured him out Monday afternoon, Anaheim police said.

It was a pack of cigarettes, tossed onto the walk in front of his house, that finally brought Frank Benjamin Kovaletz--dubbed “Crazy Frankie” by his neighbors--outside long enough for police to grab him.

Anaheim police have been summoned regularly in recent years to the home in the 1800 block of Tedmar Avenue where Kovaletz lives with his parents, Officer Steve Stempniak said. Neighbors described constant family arguments that often ended in violence, such as the time Kovaletz allegedly drove his car through the home’s large living room window.

“It’s just routine,” said MaryAnn Rolph, 45, who lives across the street from the Kovaletz residence. “You know how things become commonplace. You see cops across the street and say ‘Crazy Frankie is at it.’ ”

Police said Kovaletz--a diabetic and an amputee who wears a prosthetic foot--apparently was distraught over an upcoming court appearance on a drunk-driving charge. Detective Dwain Briggs said the suspect’s mother told police that Kovaletz had said he was “going to go to court and shoot them all.”

In all, police said, Kovaletz fired about 24 rounds from a .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle he had purchased Friday, hitting nearby cars and houses. Police said he had about 300 rounds of ammunition with him. There was one exchange of gunfire with members of a special weapons and tactics team about 4 a.m. Monday in which an officer was injured by flying glass.

The officer, Richard Raulston, was treated by paramedics at the scene and resumed duty, police said.

Crowds of residents who had been evacuated from their homes and spent the night in their cars, on nearby lawns or at a Red Cross shelter cheered as members of Anaheim and Fullerton SWAT teams strolled by Monday. Sunday afternoon police had closed off several blocks and evacuated about a dozen homes to surround the Kovaletz house.

While some SWAT members watched the house from nearby roofs, officers from Anaheim’s Tactical Negotiation Unit tried to coax Kovaletz out of the house by telephone. Police said the suspect’s brother, who does not live in the same home, may also have reached him through a telephone call.

Several times Monday, Kovaletz requested cigarettes, and police tossed them to him, a few at a time. Finally, about 2:50 p.m., police tossed a full pack of cigarettes onto the sidewalk in front of the house. When he crawled out to retrieve them, police fired a shotgun to distract Kovaletz and then grabbed him.

Immediately after his arrest, Kovaletz was doused with water from a hose to wash off the tear gas that had been fired into the house in an attempt to flush him out. He was then transferred to the UCI Medical Center psychiatric ward for a 72-hour observation period. No charges were immediately filed, police said.

The incident began about 3 p.m. Sunday, when police were summoned by Kovaletz’s father, Frank Kovaletz.

While his father was at the police station, the suspect temporarily kept his mother, Anne Kovaletz, inside the house, police said, but released her at 7:15 p.m. Sunday. The suspect did not threaten his mother, police said.

In an attempt to force him out, police cut off water and electricity to the house, but he apparently had bottled water, Officer Jeff Berns said.

“He said if we wanted him we would have to come inside,” Officer Stempniak said. “And if we came inside he would kill us. He said he had nothing to lose.”

Police said the suspect survived 46 canisters of tear gas that they began firing about 3:45 a.m. Monday. Police were uncertain how the suspect could remain in the house with the tear gas. Kovaletz told them he was breathing with the aid of an oxygen tank used by his mother, but police speculated that he might simply be immune to tear gas.

About 20% of the population is immune to tear gas, according to Berns. Detective Briggs said: “Does tear gas work? Not all the time.”

While no one except Officer Raulston was injured in the incident, neighbors who were prevented from returning to their homes expressed resentment toward authorities and mental health professionals for allowing a “revolving door” policy to exist for mental patients.

“This little saga goes on about twice a month,” said Rolph, the neighbor across the street.

“He has threatened people in the neighborhood with a gun. He fights with his mother constantly. He is the type of person you don’t know when or what he’s going to do next. I have children, and I would like to live in a peaceful neighborhood.”

The last time police were called to restrain Kovaletz, neighbors said, he was strapped onto a stretcher face down, and handcuffed. Then another stretcher was placed over him and tied down--”so he couldn’t do anything but blink his eyes,” said Richard Carr, 26, a next-door neighbor.

Police confirmed that Kovaletz has repeatedly been removed from the Tedmar house as a “5150” arrest, referring to the state Welfare and Institutions code section identifying a mentally unbalanced person. The code allows police to place individuals in a psychiatric facility for observation and treatment for up to 72 hours.

Despite popular belief, it is “very difficult” to have someone committed to psychiatric evaluation for any length of time, said Paul Blair, a psychiatrist at UCI Medical Center.

“Despite what the doctor might think is an altruistic solution, it’s not necessarily what the law says,” Blair said, adding that judges must also consider the patient’s rights.

Barbara Specht, who lives directly across from the Kovaletz family, echoed other neighbors’ comments when she said she doubts that the most recent episode will be the last: “They’ll probably let him back out again--like they have dozens of times before.”