Standoff at House Ends After 5 Hours; 2 Men Held
A Los Angeles County sheriff’s SWAT team used tear gas to force two men--at least one of them a slaying suspect--from a house in Maywood on Thursday after the men barricaded themselves inside.
Deputies and police sealed off about two blocks around the house in the 5700 block of Maywood Avenue as heavily armed officers surrounded the house for nearly five hours trying to coax the men out.
The standoff began about 12:30 p.m., when Maywood detectives saw a murder suspect with two other men in front of the house, Deputy J. Isaac Gonzales said.
When the three men noticed the detectives, they fled into the house. Two tried to escape out the back door, but detectives caught one and the other fled back inside.
Police helped cordon off the surrounding area as the special weapons team and a negotiator arrived. At 6 p.m. officers began firing tear gas rounds to force them out. The unidentified men were arrested.
Detectives believe that at least one of the men is linked to the possibly gang-related death of Alex Santos, 21, in Maywood on Friday, Sgt. Lou Gosnell of the Maywood Police Department said.
“It may have been a mistaken identity shooting,” said Gosnell, adding that Santos was not a gang member.
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