Arcadia Area Domestic Violence Call Led To Sunday SWAT Stand Off, LASD Says

ARCADIA, CA — A man barricaded himself inside his Arcadia area home on Sunday following a domestic violence call where the suspect threatened his girlfriend with a knife, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesperson said. The subsequent police standoff lasted for several hours, according to officials.

The 51-year-old El Monte man armed with a knife who barricaded himself inside a home and refused to surrender, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Kimberly Alexander said. He was finally taken into custody Sunday evening by a special weapons team.

"The almost six-hour standoff began just before 1:15 p.m. in the 9600 block of El Poche Street," Alexander said. "The suspect was identified as Martin E. Hernandez."

Initially, deputies from the Temple station responded to the location, sheriff's Deputy Juanita Navarro-Suarez said.

The department then dispatched a Special Weapons Team from the sheriff's Special Enforcement Bureau as well as negotiators to the scene.

"Several deputies responded to the location and the man's (Hernandez's) girlfriend told them that during an argument, the man produced a knife and began to threaten her with it," Navarro-Suarez said. "That's when she called the sheriff's department."

Hernandez also allegedly threatened to set the house on fire, and as sheriff's negotiators vainly tried to talk Hernandez into surrendering, nearby houses were evacuated and deputies also turned off the gas to the house, Navarro-Suarez said.

"Finally, our special weapons team from the Special Enforcement Bureau made entry into the house and found the man (Hernandez) hiding in the attic," Navarro-Suarez said. "They took him into custody without further incident."

Hernandez was taken into custody about 7:25 p.m. and was not injured in the takedown. He was booked on suspicion of felony spousal assault and making terrorist threats, according to the deputy.
A knife was recovered at the scene.

City News Service contributed to this report.