Man Surrenders After Standoff

A despondent prison parolee who told police he wanted to be shot to death barricaded himself and his young daughter inside an apartment for more than five hours before surrendering early Tuesday, authorities said.

Mark Burboa, 28, began his standoff about 7 p.m. Monday at his mother’s apartment on the 300 block of Bay Boulevard, and freed his daughter about 11:45 p.m. before surrendering shortly after midnight, Port Hueneme Police Sgt. Jerry Beck said.

“I was starting to believe he had changed but I guess he had a short fuse,” said Burboa’s brother, Ruben.

Police Monday night said Mark Burboa had recently finished serving a year in prison for receiving stolen property. But his family said he had been jailed on and off over the past 10 years for using illegal drugs.

Ruben Burboa said his brother was earning money installing floor coverings and insulation since his release in November. The family said Mark Burboa was drug-free and had started to attend church. Police said they don’t know what sparked the incident.

Ruben Burboa said he called police after his brother pulled a knife on him during a family argument, and said his brother had claimed there were guns in the apartment. Port Hueneme officers blocked streets within a square block of the apartment and an Oxnard police SWAT team surrounded the building.

Residents of a nearby senior citizens’ complex were told to prepare for a possible evacuation, which never occurred, police said. Mark Burboa told police several times during negotiations that he wanted to die, Beck said.

Burboa was being held without bail late Tuesday on suspicion of brandishing a knife and violating the terms of his parole. His daughter, who lives in the apartment with Burboa’s mother, was staying with family members.