Man’s Threats Prompt Evacuation

Police evacuated 12 homes in the Woodbridge community Sunday night after a drunken man reportedly told his wife that he was going to shoot police officers if she called them to their home during an argument.

The woman managed to escape from the home on Havenwood and called police at 8:30 p.m., said Irvine police Sgt. Jim Potts.

“It’s the typical situation where you have someone who had been drinking all day making threats,” Potts said. “We evacuated some of the residents and closed off the street because you never know.”

Police said the man, who is reportedly a private investigator and owns a gun, refused to give himself up when they called out to him through a bullhorn and reached him by telephone.

Members of the police department’s Special Operations Unit and a hostage negotiator were called to the scene late Sunday night in case the situation escalated, Potts said.