Hostage Irked by Claim He Befriended His Captor : Crime: Chula Vista businessman said he only feigned sympathy with the suspected killer in order to survive.

A man police said showed an affinity for a murder suspect who held him at gunpoint for almost 24 hours inside a Chula Vista medical clinic said Monday he feigned sympathy with his captor to survive.

Amir Kolahzadeh criticized Chula Vista Police Officer Gary Wedge for telling reporters on Friday that Kolahzadeh had showed compassion for gunman Robert Jacobsen. Wedge, a negotiator during last week’s standoff, complained that Kolahzadeh’s ploy complicated negotiations between police and Jacobsen.

“The police said I made their job harder. They weren’t in my shoes,” said Kolahzadeh, in an interview with The Times on Monday. “He (Wedge) had an opportunity to change places with me, but he wouldn’t do it. . . . I was there. I needed to maintain my safety. I (pretended to bond) with him.

“I had no intention to bond with the suspect. But the man is holding a gun to your head. You’re scared for your life. You try your best to get the heck out of there. It’s really not fair for the police to say that I tried to bond with him,” Kolahzadeh said, adding that, overall, he had praise for the way police handled the situation.

At one point during the standoff, Jacobsen offered to release him in exchange for Wedge, Kolahzadeh said.

“He told him (Wedge), ‘You come in, Amir walks out.’ Wedge refused the offer,” said Kolahzadeh, a business owner in Chula Vista.

Chula Vista Police officials said Wedge was not working Monday. He could not be reached for comment.

After Jacobsen surrendered to police Friday, Wedge told reporters that “it (bonding) did happen during this incident.”

However, Kolahzadeh said he had no feelings toward Jacobsen, 35, who is a suspect in the Feb. 18 slaying of William Warden. Warden, 73, was shot to death during a burglary at his Chula Vista home.

“I don’t like him. The only reason we bonded was for me to be safe. I don’t care what happens to him. He did a crime. He’s going to do the time,” Kolahzadeh said.

As for photos of him shaking hands with Jacobsen at the front door of the facility at the time of his release, Kolahzadeh said the handshake was staged by Jacobsen for the benefit of the media.

Jacobsen also insisted on the handshake as a condition of his release, Kolahzadeh said.

“I was ordered by Jacobsen to do that. He wanted the media to know he was a nice guy. It worked for him. You (The Times) ran his picture on the front page. It was one of the conditions he set to set me free,” said Kolahzadeh.

Jacobsen and he talked about a variety of things during their time together, Kolahzadeh said. According to Kolahzadeh, Jacobsen admitted killing Warden.

“He said he regretted killing the old man. He said, ‘I screwed up. I never should have done it,’ ” said Kolahzadeh.

Jacobsen told him he was confronted by Warden inside the elderly man’s home, Kolahzadeh said. Kolahzadeh said Jacobsen told him that he warned Warden to stay away because he had a gun, but Warden failed to heed the warning.

“He said the old man kept going after him. He (Jacobsen) said, ‘I shot several rounds around him to scare him, but he kept on coming after me,’ ” Kolahzadeh said.

Police said Warden died from multiple gunshot wounds in the upper torso. Warden’s family said they have known Jacobsen since he was child.

Kolahzadeh was one of 10 hostages taken by Jacobsen at the ReadiCare Center medical clinic, at the corner of 5th Avenue and H Street, on Thursday. He was the last hostage released on Friday, almost 24 hours after the ordeal began and after spending about 20 hours alone with Jacobsen.

Despite his criticism of Wedge’s comments, Kolahzadeh praised Chula Vista police and Wedge for their handling of the ordeal.

“Everything they did was smart. I agreed with everything they and Wedge did, except for telling the media that I bonded with the guy . . . . They did a fantastic job,” he said.

On Monday, Kolahzadeh also acknowledged that he is only 19 years old, not 21 as he had told police and Jacobsen.

“I told him (Jacobsen) I was 21 to establish a little maturity between me and (him) , “ Kolahzadeh said.

The hostage drama began when Chula Vista police chased Jacobsen to the medical clinic at about 3 p.m. Thursday. Police said Jacobsen, who was armed with a Colt Commander .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun, took 10 people, mostly clinic employees, hostage.

During the ensuing 26-hour standoff with police, Jacobsen told Kolahzadeh that he had tried to elude police by running into the facility and pretending to a receptionist that he needed an eye exam, Kolahzadeh said.

Chula Vista police said a plainclothes officer spotted Jacobsen running into the clinic and fired one shot at him through a glass window, wounding him slightly in the shoulder, after Jacobsen allegedly pointed a handgun at the officer.

About 30 minutes after the hostage drama began, Jacobsen released his first captive when Hytham Yacubwalked out with a bandage around his right hand.

Yacub had injured his hand while changing the oil on a car at All Tune and Lube in Chula Vista, which Kolahzadeh and his father own. The two also own Pacific Tire and Alignment in Chula Vista, Kolahzadeh said.

About 5:30 p.m., Jacobsen released seven other hostages, mostly female employees. According to Kolahzadeh, Jacobsen initially did not know they were hiding in the building.

“They weren’t really hostages. When he found out they were there, he appeared shocked and surprised and let them go right away,” said Kolahzadeh.

At 6:40 p.m., another female employee was released, leaving Kolahzadeh alone with Jacobsen.

He said Jacobsen threatened to shoot him if he tried to escape, but that Jacobsen also apologized for putting him through the ordeal, Kolahzadeh said.

He was finally released Friday, at about 2:25 p.m., after spending almost 20 hours alone with the gunman. All of the hostages were released unharmed.

Jacobsen surrendered to police about 2 1/2 hours later, at 4:53 p.m.

Kolahzadeh said Jacobsen was able to stay awake during the 26-hour standoff by constantly taking drugs.

“He had his own drugs. I saw him take drugs from his clothes and take them,” he said.

On Friday, Brad Johnson, Jacobsen’s former employer and friend of 15 years, told The Times that Jacobsen confessed to his wife that he attempted to burglarize Warden’s home, looking for jewelry and money in order to buy drugs.

Several times during the stand-off with police, Jacobsen threatened to kill himself, Kolahzadeh said.

“Three times he told me he was going to kill himself. He put the gun to his head and threatened to do that. . . . I would tell him, ‘Let’s get it over with.’ But then he’d say that he couldn’t do it,” said Kolahzadeh.

Jacobsen’s moods kept changing throughout the standoff, he added.

“He cried about four or five times during the night. He would be emotional one minute and anxious the next. His moods kept changing,” Kolahzadeh said.

According to Kolahzadeh, Jacobsen constantly stood by windows, exposing himself to police fire, hoping SWAT officers would shoot him.

“He wanted the cops to shoot him and asked me to tell (Wedge) to get the cops to shoot him,” said Kolahzadeh.

Both Kolahzadeh and Jacobsen were in constant telephone contact with Wedge. Kolahzadeh said that, on several occasions, he urged Wedge and police snipers, visible at nearby office buildings, to shoot Jacobsen.

“I said to Wedge, ‘You have a clear view, do it.’ I kept pointing Jacobsen out to the snipers and urging them to shoot him. But they wouldn’t do it. They had their reasons for not doing it, and I can now say they were right,” he said.

On Thursday night, when police delivered a pizza and soft drinks demanded by Jacobsen, the gunman warmed a slice of pizza for Kolahzadeh in the clinic’s microwave oven, Kolahzadeh said.

“He kept apologizing to me, telling me, ‘I’m sorry I’m doing this to you, but I have no choice,’ ” Kolahzadeh said.

Another condition for Kolahzadeh’s release was Jacobsen’s demand that he be allowed to talk to his wife, Bobbie, on the telephone.

“Well, the phone finally rings, and it’s his wife. She says, ‘Bob, this is Bobbie. I love you.’ Then he takes me to the front door, shakes my hand and lets me go. But before I go, he tells me, ‘Good luck and stay out of trouble.’ I told him, ‘I’ll be sure to do that,’ ” Kolahzadeh said.