Poway Man Who Caused Standoff With Deputies Pleads Guilty

POWAY, CA – A Poway man who holed up in his home with his ex-girlfriend after a fight that prompted a sheriff's response pleaded guilty Tuesday to a felony charge of resisting an executive officer while armed with a shotgun and a BB gun.

Bryon Edward Henry, 33, faces up to a year in jail and will be placed on probation when he is sentenced Jan. 16.

Defense attorney Ashby Sorensen told Judge Polly Shamoon that Henry is the manager of a tire store in Scripps Ranch and being jailed could jeopardize his employment. The judge said she would consider – but not promise – alternatives to custody at the time of sentencing.

Before the plea to resisting an officer with force and threats of violence, Henry had faced a maximum of four years in state prison, said Deputy District Attorney Michael Runyon.

Henry was arrested the night of May 9 following a 90-minute standoff. Deputies were sent to the defendant's home in the 13000 block of Utopia Road about 7:30 p.m. in response to a report that he was behaving in a threatening manner toward a former romantic partner, according to sheriff's Lt. Christopher Collier.

When patrol deputies tried to make contact with Henry, he retreated into his residence along with the woman, 31-year-old Kiera Genesta, and refused repeated orders to exit and surrender, the lieutenant said.

As deputies tried in vain to persuade Henry to give himself up, they heard shots – from a BB gun –coming from inside the home. Authorities evacuated several nearby residences as a precaution during the fraught encounter, Collier said.

Eventually, Genesta walked out of her former boyfriend's home and was taken into custody on suspicion of violating a restraining order. A short time later, deputies took Henry into custody.

No one was injured during the standoff, Collier said.

By KELLY WHEELER/City News Service

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