Police Use Tear Gas to End 5-Hour Standoff

A man who barricaded himself in his Van Nuys apartment with his wife after threatening his landlord with a gun surrendered to police Friday when tear gas was fired into the apartment at the end of a five-hour standoff, authorities said.

Richard C. Taylor, 37, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after he surrendered at 1 a.m. at his apartment in the 6500 block of Woodley Avenue.

Police said the incident began about 8 p.m. Thursday when Taylor allegedly pointed a rifle at his landlord during an argument. The landlord then called police while Taylor and his wife, whose identity was not released, hid in their apartment.

The police Special Weapons and Tactics Squad surrounded the apartment and later fired one round of tear gas into the apartment. Taylor’s wife was not arrested.

Taylor was being held at the Van Nuys jail in lieu of $12,000 bail.