Burglary Suspect Surrenders After 4-hour Standoff

A suspected burglar who hid in a Canyon Country motel for hours Sunday finally surrendered after a police dog was sent in after him and bit his foot, authorities said.

The standoff lasted four hours, during which time authorities evacuated about 30 people from the Travel Lodge in the 17800 block of Sierra Highway, said Sgt. Deborah Miller of the Santa Clarita station of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

It began when Ron Michael Flowers, 19, of Canyon Country, along with three other people, tried to use an allegedly stolen credit card at the motel, authorities said. After the front desk clerk called police, deputies found stolen property in their room, Miller said.

Christopher Paul Lord, 20, of Santa Clarita, Jennifer Elizabeth Dole, 19, of Canyon Country, and Brian Rosenfield, 21, of Saugus, were arrested immediately, Miller said, but Flowers evaded the deputies by climbing into a crawl space and hiding in the motel’s attic.

A canine unit was called and deputies lifted a dog into the crawl space where it promptly found Flowers and nipped him on the heel, ending the standoff at 3:20 p.m.

Flowers was not seriously injured.

“He was handcuffed and he walked out,” said Pamela McKee, a motel employee. “I didn’t see him hobbling.”

All four suspects were booked on suspicion of burglary, Miller said. Bail for each was set at $30,000.