Standoff Ends With Man’s Surrender

A seven-hour standoff in Port Hueneme ended late Thursday after a 66-year-old man who had barricaded himself in his home surrendered to police.

Willie Boswell gave himself up shortly before 9:30 p.m. after a half-hour telephone conversation with Sheriff’s Department negotiators.

Police had arrived at Boswell’s home in the 600 block of Forrest Loop about 2:30 p.m. after receiving a call that he was armed and threatening to harm relatives, said Lt. Fernando Estrella, a spokesman for the Port Hueneme Police Department.

Boswell’s wife was locked in the home with him, Estrella said.

More than 50 officers from Port Hueneme, Oxnard and the Sheriff’s Department surrounded Boswell’s home, along with officials from the county’s mental health department, Estrella said. As a precaution, officers also evacuated several homes in the neighborhood.

Boswell had apparently been drinking, Estrella said, adding that it was not the first time officers had been called to the residence.

Police were especially cautious in light of the shooting death of Sheriff’s Deputy Peter Aguirre Jr., who was killed when he responded to a domestic disturbance in Meiners Oaks, Estrella said.

“We took a lot of precautions and it ended peacefully,” he said. “We couldn’t have asked for a better ending. Everybody got to go home safe and [Boswell] cooperated with us and gave himself up.”

After police convinced Boswell to give himself up, they recovered several revolvers and rifles inside the home. Boswell is being held for evaluation by mental health officials.