A community crime spree escalated from vandalism to a home invasion early Saturday, leading to a man’s arrest after a standoff at a Mira Mesa apartment complex.
San Diego police, aided by SWAT personnel, eventually arrested a naked suspect, apparently connected to the series of felony crimes. He allegedly had barricaded himself in a bathroom after he forced his way into a upper unit, causing the residents to flee.
The mayhem began when a Subway shop employee called 911 to report that a man was trying to break in using a large trash can lid, according to OnScene.TV.
Before San Diego police officers arrived, the suspect had left the property, but they found seven large concrete trash containers broken – said to be valued at $1,000 each – at the shopping center on Mira Mesa Boulevard.
The suspect was seen walking northbound on Westview Parkway, and police responded to a fire about a half-mile to the north at 5 a.m.
Officers called firefighters in because of smoke coming from the Casa Mira View apartments, on Mira Lee Way off Westview Parkway, as dispatchers began to receive calls from residents. Some had seen smoke in the complex, while others reported that smoke alarms had gone off.
“Several hundred” residents evacuated their buildings, police said, but firefighters found the flames, which had set off overhead sprinklers, were limited to an SUV on the fourth level of a parking structure.
Police, though, received reports that the same suspect was grabbing fire extinguishers in the complex, spraying them, then using the cannisters to break exit signs on the sprawling property.
As officers were again attempting to locate him, they learned the man they sought had stripped down to his underwear and forced his way into an apartment.
The residents escaped and called police, who tried to get the male to surrender. But he didn’t listen, and allegedly hurled property from the apartment at officers from a window and armed himself with a slingshot.
By that time, special weapons and tactics officers had been called to the scene. They broke down the front door of the apartment and found the male had barricaded himself in a bathroom.
Officers at that point tried to force him out, firing pepper balls into the bathroom through the window. SWAT officers then broke into the room and found the suspect naked.
They arrested the man, whose name has not been released, on several felony charges. A Russian translator was summoned to help communicate with the suspect, who was escorted from the building in handcuffs while wearing only a towel.
Investigators from both Northeastern Division and the police arson team will handle the case. Officers also found that two other businesses, in addition to the Subway shop, had been vandalized on Mira Mesa Boulevard.
A crowd of residents had been forced to remain outside as the standoff continued, but officers allowed them back in their homes after hours of waiting.
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