Santa Ana : Police Find Weapons After Gunman’s Arrest

Police said they discovered a cache of weapons in a Park Lane home early Saturday after trying unsuccessfully for about six hours to coax a gunman to surrender and finally firing tear gas into the house.

Three handguns, a shotgun, a rifle and an AK-47 assault rifle--all loaded--were found during a search, along with more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, a crossbow and a stun gun, Lt. Mike Mitchell said. No shots were fired during the standoff, which began shortly before 7 p.m. Friday.

The incident began when Geno Bolda, 22, allegedly fired a number of shots from his car at four people standing in front of a home in the 2500 block of Laird Avenue at about 6:30 p.m. “There’s no indication what caused the initial shooting,” Mitchell said, adding that nobody was injured.

Residents of the Laird Avenue house, who weren’t identified, called police, and witnesses led officers to Bolda’s house in the 1700 block of Park Lane, about half a mile from where the shots were fired. SWAT team members and a Sheriff’s Department helicopter were called after Bolda barricaded himself inside with his fiancee, 19-year-old Sheila French. Mitchell didn’t say whether French was being held hostage during the incident.

Police tried to talk Bolda out of the house, using the telephone and bullhorns, but he did not respond, they said. The efforts continued until about 1:30 a.m., when the tear-gas canisters were fired.

The couple emerged about an hour later, and both were taken into custody. French was released a short time later and Bolda was booked into County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and shooting into an inhabited dwelling.

While police surrounded the house, nine homes and about 50 residents were evacuated. About 20 people were provided shelter at Riverdale Elementary School in nearby Garden Grove, according to American Red Cross spokeswoman Sylvia Fanton.

Tim Scully, a neighbor, said, “We’ve had run-ins with the kid” as a result of what he said was Bolda’s practice of firing guns..

“We were sitting in bed last night,” said Scully, 33. “All of a sudden we hear a couple rounds go off, and our kid says, ‘Oh, Geno’s shooting his gun again.’ ” Scully said that many shots were fired before the police arrived.

Scully and his family, who have lived in the neighborhood for nine years, were evacuated during the siege and returned after Bolda’s arrest. Scully described the neighborhood as peaceful.

Another neighbor, Diana Morrow, also complained about the shots. “We hear them all the time,” she said. Morrow also said that neighbors believed that Bolda had a gas mask, as well as the weapons.