NEWPORT BEACH : Knife-Wielding Man Arrested in Standoff

A 47-year-old man holding a butcher knife held officers and a 20-member SWAT team at bay for more than three hours at the Oakwood Apartments on Sunday afternoon before surrendering, police said.

David Alan Miller, who lived alone, locked himself in his one-bedroom apartment in the 1800 block of 16th Street after neighbors complained about screams coming from his apartment, Police Lt. Jim Carson said.

Miller was arrested about 3:15 p.m. Sunday after threatening officers with a large knife that he had been striking against the wall of his apartment, Carson said.

Miller is being held in City Jail on a charge of exhibiting a dangerous weapon to resist arrest, police said.

Police evacuated Miller’s apartment and several adjacent buildings in the 732-apartment complex after failing in repeated tries to reach the suspect by telephone.

Carson said police believed initially that Miller was armed with a gun during the standoff, but the item he was holding turned out to be a TV remote control. No gun was found after authorities entered the apartment and took Miller into custody.

“He wore himself out,” Carson said. “He was lying on the floor by the door, and we could tell he was tired.”

Miller was arrested last year for possession of a loaded firearm and has prior drunk driving arrests as well, Carson said. Police said he is a manager of a firm called Global Resources on Campus Drive in Newport Beach.