COSTA MESA : 5-Hour Standoff Ends in Surrender

A Costa Mesa man surrendered to police early Wednesday after a five-hour standoff with a special weapons and tactics team and other officers.

Kevin Lee Noble, 35, locked himself in his apartment about 9 p.m. Tuesday as Costa Mesa police tried to serve an arrest warrant on three charges, including assault with a deadly weapon, police spokesman Bob Crogan said.

Noble allowed several people to leave the apartment during the incident, but kept himself sealed inside, locking the doors and windows, police said.

About 9:30 p.m., the SWAT team was called in. SWAT leaders negotiated with Noble until about 2 a.m., when he surrendered, police said.

Since Noble was believed to have been involved in an assault with a deadly weapon just two days earlier, police said they feared he might have been armed during the standoff. Noble, however, was not armed and police found no weapons in his apartment in the 300 block of Hamilton Street, Crogan said.

Police sought Noble for questioning in an assault against a woman in a Costa Mesa bar Sunday night, Crogan said. The unidentified woman, who told police she is Noble’s ex-girlfriend, accused him of hitting her while brandishing a semiautomatic gun, Crogan said.

The other two charges against Noble are narcotics-related, Crogan said, but further details were not available.

Noble is being held at Costa Mesa city jail, with bail set at $22,546. Possible new charges stemming from the standoff are under study by the district attorney’s office.