Full Notification

A man is now in custody following a five-hour standoff in Imperial Beach. 30-year-old Richard Allen Perez (11/18/1982) surrendered to deputies at 11:44 a.m.

It all a started just before 7:00 a.m. when neighbors called to report a family disturbance in the 1400 block of 14th Street; neighbors heard people yelling at each other. A deputy from the Imperial Beach Sheriff’s Station arrived on scene. As the deputy contacted the suspect, the suspect assaulted the deputy and then ran away. The deputy was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

Additional deputies responded to the scene and set up a perimeter. They conducted a door-to-door search of apartment complexes and discovered the suspect forced his way into an apartment unit in the 1300 block of Holly Avenue. A man who lives in the unit was able to get out safely.

Deputies attempted to convince him to surrender. The suspect barricaded the door to the apartment and started throwing furniture out the second story window at deputies on scene. Deputies deployed Pepper Balls through the window, but the suspect still refused to come out. At this point, the Imperial Beach Command notified the Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Detail (SED)/SWAT and Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) respond to the scene. The SWAT team took over the scene and evacuated 12 adjoining units in the apartment complex as a precaution. CNT began a dialogue with the suspect and after five hours, the suspect gave himself up.

We want to thank the residents for their cooperation during this incident. We also want to thank the American Red Cross for providing the residents with snacks and refreshments.