Armed Man Surrenders in Standoff With Police : Ventura: Don Alan Lambert is arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. He allegedly fired a shotgun at his girlfriend’s friend during a dispute.

A standoff between Ventura police and a suspect in an attempted murder ended without injury early Monday when investigators closed off Main Street and persuaded the barricaded man to surrender peacefully.

Don Alan Lambert, the 33-year-old boyfriend of one of the alleged victims, was arrested about 2:40 a.m. Monday on suspicion of attempted murder after firing a shotgun at a woman, then holding police at bay for more than five hours.

He is being held in Ventura County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Municipal Court.

Police said Lambert had been drinking at several bars with his girlfriend, Linda Holycross, 36, and two of her friends Sunday evening when an argument broke out.

Lambert then returned to the three-room apartment he shared with Holycross in the 1200 block of Main, police said.

When the three women arrived an hour later, another disagreement broke out and Lambert fired a shotgun at Sonia Taylor, 28, of Oxnard, who was unharmed by the spray of buckshot, police said. The shot penetrated the top of the back door and spattered lead pellets across the porch.

A neighbor returning home from work about 9 p.m. Sunday heard raised voices coming from the upstairs apartment moments before the attack.

“The lady said, ‘Don’t point that at me,’ ” said the neighbor, who declined to give his name. “Then it went off. I went to my neighbor’s house and called 911.”

The three women ran outside before police arrived. At one point early in the confrontation, police said Lambert grabbed Holycross and dragged her back into the apartment, but she was able to break free and escape.

Within minutes, more than a dozen officers swarmed around the perimeter of the downtown block, closing off Crimea and Hemlock streets, but allowing traffic along Main.

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Early police reports indicated that Lambert might be a heavily armed survivalist who might welcome a gunfight with authorities. Witnesses told investigators that several weapons could be inside the home.

“The only gun they seized (Monday) was the shotgun,” Lt. Steve Bowman said. “Everybody heard that there were supposedly more guns in the house, but I haven’t been able to find anybody that actually saw another one.”

Residents milled around the neighborhood for hours while gun-toting police waited Lambert out. But the neighbors did not seem to mind.

“A human life is more important than a little inconvenience,” said Michael Whitney, a liquor store clerk who got off work about midnight but was not allowed near his home.

Police tried to reach Lambert by telephone, but he refused to answer, Bowman said.

The Special Weapons and Tactics unit was called in about 12:30 a.m. SWAT team members closed off Main Street, shot out the street lamps surrounding the apartment and prepared to wait.

“Time works,” said Bowman, explaining Lambert’s eventual surrender. “The adrenaline drains off and you realize this is really stupid.”

About 1 a.m., a westbound driver struck an unoccupied police car blocking several lanes of Main Street and flashing its red and blue lights.

No one was injured in the crash, which caused significant damage to both vehicles. Gabriel Ibarraran Arteaga, 26, of Ventura was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Shortly after 2 a.m., five hours after the shotgun blast was reported, police using a loudspeaker urged Lambert to come out of the apartment with his hands up.

Minutes later, the suspect answered telephone calls from police and agreed to surrender. “They finally got through to him,” Bowman said.

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Lambert emerged from the home with his arms raised, wearing a sweat shirt, jeans and no shoes. SWAT team members handcuffed the suspect and turned him over to Officers Skip Young and Ross Nideffer, who said they had no idea why Lambert chose so suddenly to surrender.

Neighbors said Lambert is a commercial painter who works out of the garage beneath the apartment he has shared with Holycross for more than a year.

Court records indicate that Lambert has no prior criminal convictions in Ventura County.