View a slideshow of the Nov. 16 standoff.
A standoff with the Santa Maria Police Department (SMPD) SWAT team on Nov. 16 ended with the surrender of a man who barricaded himself inside a home in the 800 block of East Mariposa Way. The man was wanted on suspicion of domestic violence.
According to Sgt. Russ Mengel, a SMPD spokesman, 29-year-old Santa Maria resident Eddie Dominguez surrendered to police after a more than four-hour ordeal, and after the SWAT team fired chemical agents into the house, which later caught on fire.
The incident began at approximately 7:30 a.m. when the SMPD received a call informing police that Dominguez was at the house. Mengel told reporters that police had been attempting to contact Dominguez throughout the night prior to the incident.
Police learned there might have been weapons in the house and the SWAT team responded. Authorities closed off several blocks surrounding the house from the public. A small crowd of reporters and onlookers gathered near the scene while students at nearby Allan Hancock College continued with their classes.
Members of the SWAT team in a Bearcat armored vehicle and using a loudspeaker attempted to convince Dominguez to give himself up but weren’t immediately successful.
At some point, according to Mengel, police removed the front door of the house and fired chemical agents into the house. A short time later, the house caught on fire and was emitting thick plumes of black smoke.
It was at this point that Dominguez surrendered. The standoff ended shortly before noon.
The Santa Maria Fire Department (SMFD) was called and the fire was quickly extinguished.
It’s not clear if the chemical agents—which were projectiles fired from a gun—started the fire, according to investigators. The fire department will continue to investigate the fire’s cause. According to Mengel, the suspect’s family occupied the house at
the time.
Dominguez was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of kidnapping, stalking, domestic violence, criminal threats, assault with a deadly weapon, and obstructing officers, and he had two misdemeanor warrants. His bail was set at $500,000.
This article appears in Nov 24 – Dec 1, 2016.