COSTA MESA : Man Arrested, Dog Killed in Standoff

An unemployed Costa Mesa man was arrested and his dog was killed by police after a tense five-hour standoff Thursday afternoon.

As anxious family members, neighbors and friends waited behind police barricades, Mark Edward Palmer, 31, surrendered to Costa Mesa police at 4 p.m. after ignoring their calls for much of the day.

Palmer, who police say attempted to set his Milbro Street home on fire, was arrested on suspicion of malicious mischief, assault and battery, and attempted arson. He is being held at the Costa Mesa Police Department jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Palmer was not injured and surrendered without incident. But one of his dogs, a Doberman pinscher named Tiger, was shot at by police three times. Police said the dog tried to attack officers when they attempted to arrest Palmer.

“We’ve seen the television footage (on a local station) and it was very clear-cut,” said Officer Kevin C. Lovelady, who explained that officers had attempted to fire a tranquilizer dart at the dog earlier in the day.

Upset neighbors were critical of police for shooting the dog, which they described as docile and friendly.

“The police overreacted,” said Tomican Jordan, who grew up with Palmer. “The dog was in a defensive posture.”

A pit bull also owned by Palmer was captured by animal control officers and was not injured.

Police were called to the one-story, four-bedroom house at 11 a.m. when Palmer allegedly assaulted his live-in girlfriend, 42-year-old Martha (Joey) Nickertz, and lit several things inside of the house on fire.

Lovelady said police were told that several shots had been fired inside the home on Wednesday night but officers were not called at that time.

Robert Soliz, 25, who lives at the home with his wife and child, is a longtime friend of Palmer. He said Palmer and Nickertz had been fighting the previous evening but denied that a gun had been fired.

“There are no guns in that house,” Soliz said. “This whole thing has been blown out of proportion, totally. He probably didn’t answer police because he was asleep.”

Several neighbors said Palmer isn’t violent and described the day’s drama as “shocking.”

“He’s a very nice guy,” said Lynette Walters, a neighbor who grew up with Palmer. “He’s not some ballistic maniac like you see on television. He’s a very normal person and was probably just drinking this morning.”

During the five-hour barricade, several neighbors were evacuated from their homes.