Irvine Police Evacuate 50 in 9-Hour Siege of Armed Man

A suicidal, armed man who had threatened his wife held off Irvine police for nine hours and prompted the evacuation of about 50 people in his neighborhood early Saturday before he was peacefully taken into custody.

Police said Wallace Neal Dyer Jr., 49, was placed under 72-hour observation at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana and would be arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

The long night began a little after 10 p.m. Friday when Dyer’s wife, Jennifer, called police to report that her husband had been drinking, was armed with several firearms, and had threatened her with a gun, Sgt. Dick Bowman said. She had been able to get away from their home on Chenile in order to telephone for help when he was distracted, she told police.

SWAT Team Responds

Police, including a SWAT team, responded and evacuated five homes on Chenile around Dyer’s house, Bowman said. A command post was set up at 4 Carnelian. A policeman spoke with Dyer by telephone for about an hour but was unable to persuade him to surrender, Bowman said.

Dyer indicated he had personal problems and intended to harm no one but himself, Bowman said.

While the SWAT team surrounded his home, Dyer spent most of the night in his back yard patio with the barrel of a cocked .357 magnum revolver in his mouth and a finger on the trigger, said Sgt. Ron Flathers, SWAT team incident commander.

Authorities were concerned that Dyer would “commit suicide by police” by taking a shot at the police, who would then return fire, he said.

Throughout the night, officers around the perimeter of Dyer’s back yard tried to talk him into surrendering.

Bowman said that with daylight approaching, police decided to evacuate several apartment units on Briarglen, to the rear of Dyer’s home, and a greenbelt was closed off.

Red Cross on Scene

The American Red Cross established an evacuation center with cots and food at the South Lake Tennis Club at 500 Springbrook South.

According to Flathers, more than 50 people, ranging from infants to senior citizens, were evacuated.

Shortly after 7 a.m., the standoff ended when Dyers put down the gun and went into his kitchen, Flathers said. Two SWAT team members leaped over the fence and charged Dyer, who put up no resistance.

In addition to the revolver, Dyer had a .308-caliber deer rifle with a powerful scope, a collapsible .22-caliber rifle and several handguns in the house, Flathers said.

Irvine police had called in the Newport Beach SWAT team to relieve the weary Irvine officers at 7:30 a.m., but Dyers was taken into custody just as the Newport Beach police arrived. The Fire Department stationed five people at the command post.