SWAT Team Arrests Man Hiding in Basket
A 47-year-old man wanted for parole violations was arrested Monday afternoon after hiding for about six hours in an industrial park warehouse surrounded by Costa Mesa SWAT team officers.
Officers found Raymond Richie Bettis hiding in a wicker basket in the warehouse, which was once a custom air-balloon shop, authorities said.
Bettis was released from prison three weeks ago. He was wanted for an unknown parole violation, Costa Mesa Police Lt. John E. FitzPatrick said. He did not know why Bettis had been in prison.
Police who were looking for Bettis found his white El Camino parked in front of the building on Logan Avenue at 8:30 a.m.
Some of the building’s tenants were evacuated in the afternoon after SWAT team officers arrived. Police smashed a window and yelled to Bettis, who officers feared was armed.
Bettis never responded to police during the standoff. He was unarmed and did not resist arrest, FitzPatrick said.
He is being held without bail at Costa Mesa City Jail.
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