Rape Suspect Arrested After 6-Hour Standoff
A rape suspect who threatened to stab himself to death was arrested early Monday by Ventura County sheriff’s deputies following a six-hour standoff at his Camarillo home.
Gary Scott Moneta, 21, was booked on suspicion of rape, false imprisonment and criminal threats.
The incident began just after 6 p.m. Sunday in the 100 block of Spanish Moss Place, officials said.
A woman who authorities said was in a relationship with Moneta called deputies to tell them she had been raped and that the suspect was under the influence of methamphetamines and carrying a knife, Sheriff’s Department spokesman Eric Nishimoto said.
The victim also told authorities that before she fled the residence, Moneta said he would not let deputies take him to jail.
After several attempts to contact Moneta by phone, SWAT officers forced their way into the home using flash-bang devices--loud explosives that emit bright lights to distract or stun a suspect--and arrested Moneta, Nishimoto said.
Moneta was treated at St. John’s Regional Medical Center for a self-inflicted knife wound to the neck and then was taken to Ventura County Jail, where he was being held Monday in lieu of $500,000 bail.
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