RIVERSIDE: Hours-long standoff ends with arrest of armed felon
Officers arrested Tommy Lee Ferris after a standoff that lasted 7 hours.
RIVERSIDE – Police officers arrested a man who had been standing in front of his residence while armed with a rifle Thursday, Nov. 10. The seven-hour long standoff happened in the normally quiet, tree-lined, 9700 block of Belmont Drive in the Arlington area of Riverside.
At the end of the standoff officer arrested the suspect, who was identified as Tommy Lee Ferris, 35-years-old of Riverside. Ferris was determined to be a convicted felon with previous weapons violations. As a felon, Ferris was prohibited from owning or possessing firearms of any kind.
The dangerous incident began shortly before 9 a.m., when a teenager flagged down a Riverside police officer who was passing by. The girl told the officer her father was standing in front of their residence waiving a rifle. He was reportedly making threats to shoot his neighbors.
The teenager told officer Ferris was intoxicated and had been throwing beer cans at her.
Additional patrol, traffic, and METRO/SWAT officers quickly arrived and established a tactical perimeter around the residence and neighborhood. Officers safely evacuated residents living at the property as well as several nearby homes, while negotiators attempted to make contact with the armed and intoxicated suspect.
Officers recovered several weapons from Ferris’ residence. RPD photo
Officers conducted a records check and determined Ferris was a convicted felon with several previous weapons violations. Family members told officers that in spite of his being a convicted felon, Ferris had several firearms inside the house with him. Based on this information, detectives sought and obtained a search warrant for the residence.
Officers spent several hours attempting to establish communication with Ferris, however the armed suspect refused to cooperate with the officers or to exit the residence.
Riverside PD’s METRO/SWAT Team eventually deployed chemical agents into the home which caused Ferris to exit the residence about 4:15 p.m.
When Ferris eventually came out of the residence, he was combative and non-compliant and METRO/SWAT officers had to physically detain him.
As a felon, Ferris is prohibited from owning or possessing firearms. RPD photo
After Ferris was safely in custody, officials served the search warrant at the house, at which time they located several illegal weapons that included two rifles and a portion of a third. Officers also found several illegal high-capacity rifle magazines, a shotgun, a long rifle and ammunition.
Based on their investigation, officers arrested Ferris. He was taken to a local hospital for medical clearance and then he was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center for criminal threats and multiple weapons violations.
“The safe conclusion to this armed, barricaded situation was a result of the excellent teamwork, professionalism and training by members of the Riverside Police Department,” an official said in a written press release after Ferris’ arrest.
As a felon, Ferris is prohibited from owning or possessing firearms. RPD photo
A jail record search revealed Ferris was booked into jail on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm, being a felon in possession of an assault weapon, being a felon in possession of ammunition and making criminal threats.
He is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned at the Riverside Hall of Justice Nov. 15.
Anyone with information about this investigation is encouraged to contact Riverside police officials at (951) 826-5700. Callers can remain anonymous.
Click any image to open full-size gallery.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, Personnel and Background Investigations and he finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator.
Trevor has been married for more than 26 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 12 – soon to be 13 – grandchildren.
Things are going to get much worse now by passing the insanity of Prop.57.
The state of California has truly gone insane.