San Diego : Hostages Released After 21 Hours; Man Arrested

A standoff between an armed man holding his girlfriend and her 3-year-old son hostage for more than 21 hours and San Diego police SWAT units ended peacefully Tuesday when the man released his captives and surrendered.

About 2:30 p.m., Milton Fields, 32, a convicted robber who was being sought for parole violation, released Gwyn Smith and her 3-year-old son, Jamar, and was taken into custody as he came out of an apartment in the 3200 block of Van Dyke Avenue.

All three were shaken but appeared to be physically well after the ordeal, police spokesman Rick Carlson said. Smith suffered some minor bumps and bruises to her face, apparently from blows delivered by Fields during an altercation that police said eventually led to the hostage-taking.

“We’re just glad it was a happy ending,” Carlson said, adding that the standoff was one of the longest in the city’s history. “Everybody is worn out and tired, and we are pretty proud of the situation.”

Fields was being held Tuesday night in the County Jail downtown on parole violation charges.

Carlson said the incident began about 5 p.m. Monday when Fields became involved in a fight with Smith and drew a gun. He allegedly took the woman and her son hostage, and ordered other occupants of the apartment to leave.

About 30 SWAT team members and 15 police officers cordoned off the area and evacuated about 50 people nearby. Police negotiators and relatives of Fields attempted to talk with him throughout the night, but Fields reportedly was uncooperative, police said.

“He hung up the phone and yelled profanities into the phone or out the window,” Carlson said. Fields’ mother, sister and uncle, Thomas Penn (whose son is Sagon Penn, accused of killing a policeman) attempted to talk Fields into surrendering, they said.

As SWAT team members began positioning themselves closer to the apartment and negotiators began to insist that Fields release the hostages and surrender, Carlson said, Fields began to cooperate and to respond to police questions. “I think he realized he was overwhelmed by police,” Carlson said.

No shots were fired during the standoff.