Hostage Drama at Clinic Ends as Gunman Surrenders

A gunman wanted for murder surrendered to police Friday, walking out of a medical clinic with hands held high, 26 hours after taking 10 people hostage inside and about 2 1/2 hours after releasing his last hostage, whom he shook by the hand at the door.

Robert Jacobsen, 35, gave himself up at 4:53 p.m., after six explosions rocked the facility. Police said the explosions came from tear-gas canisters.

As Jacobsen walked out of the clinic, a telephone held in one hand, several officers approached him slowly with weapons raised. Jacobsen was quickly handcuffed by two officers and whisked away to a patrol car.

None of the hostages or police officers were injured, officials said. One of Jacobsen’s shoulders appeared to be injured. Chula Vista Police Lt. Merlin Wilson said Thursday that one shot was fired at the beginning of the incident.

About 2:25 p.m., Jacobsen had released the last of his 10 hostages. He escorted Emir Kolahzadeh to the front door, shook Kolahzadeh’s hand and allowed him to walk safely out the building.

Kolahzadeh and Jacobsen had spent almost 20 hours alone together, sharing pizza and soft drinks provided by police. At times, Jacobsen paraded Kolahzadeh behind a large window, in clear view of police, alternately pointing the handgun at the hostage’s head and other times sticking the gun in his waistband while prodding Kolahzadeh from behind.

The other hostages included employees and patients of the ReadiCare Center medical clinic, Merlin Wilson said. The facility is located across from a major shopping center and is on one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares.

Kolahzadeh, 21, was freed after police negotiators honored a commitment to allow Jacobsen to talk briefly on the telephone with his wife, Bobbie.

Jacobsen, an unemployed truck driver and construction worker, is wanted in the Feb. 18 murder of William Warden, who was shot to death with a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun during a burglary at his Chula Vista home. Warden, 73, and his wife, Nola, had apparently known Jacobsen since he was a child.

On Friday, Brad Johnson, Jacobsen’s former employer and friend of 15 years, told The Times that Jacobsen confessed to his wife. Johnson, who said he spent most of Thursday night at Jacobsen’s Chula Vista home, blamed the killing on Jacobsen’s alleged drug habit.

“This is the tragedy of drugs. He told his wife he was high at the time. He was looking to steal money and a little jewelry in order to buy drugs,” Johnson said.

As for the shooting, Johnson, 33, said Jacobsen “just panicked.”

“(Jacobsen) told his wife that the old man surprised him in the hallway. He just panicked and fired. (Jacobsen’s) wife is pretty devastated by this,” Johnson said.

Police had been looking for Jacobsen for about a week. On Thursday, a bartender who works at a tavern about two blocks from the clinic called police to tell them that Jacobsen was there. By the time officers arrived, Jacobsen was gone.