SAN JACINTO: Hours-long standoff leads to man’s arrest, weapons seizure

SAN JACINTO — A man officials say refused to surrender to authorities attempting to serve an early morning search warrant caused an hours-long standoff at a San Jacinto residence, Tuesday, Jan. 30.

The SWAT standoff continued until the alleged suspect exited the home and was arrested. Officials serving the search warrant later seized six weapons and more than 100 rounds of ammunition from the residence.

After exiting the home, Nicolas Sahagun, 33, of San Jacinto, was arrested without further incident.

He was later booked at Hemet PD on suspicion of being a felon in possession of firearms and being a prohibited person in possession of ammunition, Hemet Police Lt. Eric Dickson explained after the standoff and Sahagun’s arrest.

The standoff began about 5 a.m., when the Hemet/Murrieta Regional Special Operations Unit – or SWAT Team – attempted to serve a search warrant at a home on the 1700 block of Rolling Meadows Court, southeast of the intersection of N. State Street and Quandt Ranch Road.

When authorities arrived at the residence Sahagun refused to exit, leading to the tense standoff. “As a safety precaution, nearby residences were evacuated,” said Davis.

As the standoff continued, numerous heavily armed officers, police vehicles and two armored, tactical, rescue vehicles swarmed onto and around the small and normally quiet cul-de-sac that only features ten homes.

During the ordeal a Riverside County Sheriff’s helicopter continuously circled overhead, providing information to officers on the ground. Both the aviation unit and ground officers used PA systems to address those who were inside the residence.

Two adults – a man and woman – were eventually observed exiting the home. The couple was seen kissing as SWAT officers led them from the home in handcuffs. Officials did not release the names of the pair and it was not immediately known how or if they are related to Sahagun, who continued to refuse to surrender.

With the standoff continuing past dawn, officials eventually brought several mobile command centers to the area and established a centralized command area in two parking lots of nearby Mt. San Jacinto College. While the official’s command and other vehicles were stationed at the college’s campus, the two parking lots were closed to the public.

As the standoff entered its third hour, Sahagun finally exited the home and surrendered to SWAT officers, according to Davis.

After Sahagun’s arrest, officials served the warrant that initially led them to the San Jacinto home. While patrol officers cordoned off the entire street, three large support vehicles – including at least one bomb squad technical support truck – were stationed on Quandt Ranch Road at the end of Sahagun’s street.

During the service of their warrant, officers located and seized firearms and ammunition – which as a felon, Sahagun is prohibited from possessing, according to Davis.

Although the standoff ended about 8 a.m., police activity in the area continued until nearly 9 a.m., causing many area residents concern about their children having to walk past the activity to reach several San Jacinto area schools.

Many area residents took to social media discussing the police activity, armored vehicles and standoff, while asking for information about what was happening in the Quandt Ranch neighborhood just north of the college.

Without official information about the incident and with online rumors and speculation swirling about the activity, some parents admitted keeping their children home from school for the day.

Sahagun was released from custody within hours of his arrest after posting bail, according to officials who did not specify Sahagun’s bail amount.

Anyone with information about this investigation or Sahagun’s arrest is encouraged to contact Hemet PD at (951) 765-2418.

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Miguel Shannon/OCHawk video

 

 

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Trevor Montgomery, who recently moved from Riverside County to Shasta County, 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 as well as 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.