Man held on suspicion of brandishing a toy gun at a U.S. Marine Corps recruitment center

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies in Lancaster arrested a man accused of walking into a U.S. Marine Corps recruitment center and threatening people with a toy gun Tuesday morning.

The man had walked in and out of the center in the 44500 block of Valley Central Way several times before staff members asked him to leave because he was causing a disturbance, officials said.

Asked to leave one more time, the man lifted his shirt and showed the butt of a gun in his waistband, sheriff’s officials said.

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Deputies responding to the incident found Angel Cruz, 23, a transient, walking away from the area. They stopped him, finding the toy gun tucked into his waistband with the orange tip designed to show it’s a toy painted over in black, said Deputy Joshua Stamsek.

Cruz was arrested on suspicion of brandishing an imitation firearm, being under the influence of a controlled substance and having an outstanding warrant for a DUI. He’s being held on $145,000 bail.

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