Man Barricaded in Palmdale House Arrested

A Sheriff’s Department special weapons team arrested an armed man early Sunday who was barricaded in a Palmdale house for several hours.

Ernest Lopez, 43, of Lancaster was booked on suspicion of burglary and is being held in lieu of $40,000 bail, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Responding to a call that a home-security alarm went off, deputies found that a house in the 5300 block on Sunburst Drive had its door kicked in. Once inside, deputies saw a man lying on a bed next to a high-powered rifle.

“He was breathing but unresponsive to any communications or any kind of noise,” said Sgt. Kyle Bistline of the sheriff’s station in Palmdale.

Because the man refused to leave and other armed suspects could have been hiding inside, deputies backed out of the house, Bistline said. Deputies notified the SWAT team about 2:30 a.m.

The SWAT team, in turn, called in negotiators, said Deputy Carrie Stuart, a department spokeswoman.

“They were able to get hold of [the suspect] on the phone, and he peacefully surrendered at about 5:15 a.m.,” Stuart said.

According to neighbors, the owner of the house is out of town, Bistline said.

Authorities said they’re baffled as to why the suspect remained uncommunicative for so long. “It does not appear that he was drunk or under the influence of anything,” Bistline said.

The case is under investigation.