Man Held in Siege Over a $20 Debt
Walter Phillip Hallstein wanted $20 for a wading pool he had sold to a family six months ago at a garage sale, say police.
And he meant business.
So shortly before noon Saturday, the 53-year-old Rossmoor man, toting a 12-gauge shotgun, allegedly went to the home of David Elizondo on Yellowtail Drive in Rossmoor, held six adults and six children at gunpoint inside the house for a few minutes and collected his money, sheriff’s deputies said.
Then he left in a white station wagon.
After a four-hour search involving helicopters and deputies on the ground, Hallstein was arrested without incident with the shotgun at 3:43 p.m. at Martha Ann Drive and Bostonian Drive in Rossmoor, sheriff’s Lt. Larry Richey said.
Hallstein was booked into Orange County Jail on suspicion of residential robbery. No injuries were reported.
Sheriff’s Lt. Harold Schaffroth said, “Sometimes people do things I just can’t believe.”
Rossmoor is an unincorporated area of about 5,000 to 6,000 homes in western Orange County, between Los Alamitos and Seal Beach.
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