UPDATE: EAST HEMET: Reports of incident involving armed and barricaded suspect unfounded
UPDATE: EAST HEMET — Sheriff’s officials have clarified this afternoon that earlier reports of an armed and barricaded stand-off happening in the area of Stetson Avenue and S. San Jacinto Street in the East Hemet area were unfounded and activity in the area was related to the service of a felony arrest warrant. Officials have not stated what the felony warrant was related to, but stated the man was safely taken into custody.
Witnesses at the scene said the incident began about 1 p.m., when their street was flooded with heavily armed sheriff’s officials.
Numerous sheriff’s officials were at the scene of an arrest warrant service this morning in East Hemet. Timothy Franzese/Public Safety Incident photo
Early reports from numerous witnesses and family members at the scene indicated that Riverside County sheriff’s officials and Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team (SWAT) members were at the home of a possible hostage situation involving a man armed with a gun who was reported to be holding his family at gunpoint.
Family members who made it out of the home safely told witnesses and local reporters at the scene that the subject of the arrest warrant was armed with a gun and was initially unwilling to come out or allow his family to leave.
In spite of the early, conflicting reports from the scene, the man’s family members made it out of the home safely and the alleged suspect eventually came out of the residence and was taken into custody without incident, Riverside County Sheriff’s Public Information Officer Armando Muñoz explained in a telephone interview.
Prior to the man exiting the home and being arrested, officials at the scene cordoned off several streets in the immediate area as the incident was unfolding and numerous sheriff’s officials flooded into the area of the warrant service to assist with the arrest.
Citizens in the area were initially asked to avoid the area, while officials served the arrest warrant and conducted their investigation into the incident.
Regardless what led to the incident, the suspect, who has not yet been publicly identified, was safely taken into custody and officials had cleared the scene by 2:30 p.m.
This is a developing news story and will be updated as more information becomes available
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Trevor Montgomery runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook and also writes for Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.
Trevor 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, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident.
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with 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 and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 27 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 14 grandchildren.
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