PORT HUENEME : Families Forced Out of Condos by Seige

About 24 families in a Port Hueneme condominium complex were evacuated Tuesday when police threw tear gas into a unit during the arrest of a man seen earlier in a stolen car, authorities said.

Eric Erwin Hall, 19, of Oxnard refused to come out of a unit in the 2600 block of Anchor Avenue when police tried to serve a search warrant at the residence, police said.

Using a bullhorn, Port Hueneme and Oxnard police issued 10 orders for the man to come out of the residence, Port Hueneme Sgt. Jerry Beck said. They also tried to call him on the telephone, he said.

After 15 to 20 minutes, the officers fired tear gas through a window. A few minutes later, Hall emerged and was arrested on suspicion of being in a stolen vehicle and on a robbery warrant from San Jose, police said. He was taken to Ventura County Jail.

The car Hall was riding in is believed to have been stolen during a Los Angeles armed robbery and was involved in a hit-and-run accident Monday night on Channel Islands Boulevard in Oxnard, Beck said. No one was injured in the accident.

The vehicle was spotted by Oxnard police early Tuesday, but when they tried to stop it, the vehicle sped away on residential streets and evaded police.

The car was then spotted parked in the 2600 block of Anchor Avenue. Surveillance was set up by officers, and at least two suspects were again seen driving away, Beck said. When police tried to stop the car at Victoria Avenue and Hemlock Street, the occupants fled on foot.

Police then began to watch the residence on Anchor Avenue again and saw one of the suspects go into the residence. They obtained a search warrant and tried to serve it about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Authorities are looking for suspects in connection with the Los Angeles robbery and the hit-and-run incident, Beck said.