Wife Whose Phone Call Led to Standoff May Be Charged

A Lake Forest woman who called police to report that her husband was threatening to kill her may be charged with filing a false police report, authorities said Wednesday.

The call, which led to a six-hour standoff between the man and an Orange County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team and the evacuation of a day-care center Tuesday, was a hoax, said Lt. Hector Rivera, spokesman for the sheriff’s department.

“The husband didn’t commit any violation of law,” Rivera said. “We found out that the early information we were provided with was incorrect.”

Authorities gave this account of the incident:

A 52-year-old woman called 911 shortly before 3 p.m. Tuesday and reported that her husband was armed with a shotgun and a revolver and was threatening her.

When the SWAT team arrived at the couple’s home on Via del Rio home, the man did not comply with police orders to come out of the house. Police closed off the street and evacuated a nearby day-care center and several other homes.

But when the man finally surrendered to hostage negotiators late Tuesday, police found no evidence that he had committed a crime.

“The husband did not threaten his wife,” Rivera said. “There were no weapons in the house. He in no way threatened any other individuals.”

Rivera said he did not know why the 53-year-old man, whose name was not released, refused to leave his home. “He was very distraught and a very angry individual,” he said.

Officials will consider charging the woman with filing a false police report, Rivera said.