A standoff with a suspect who fled from an officer during a traffic stop in Chula Vista ended Friday with the arrests of three people in connection with the incident, and at least nine suspected undocumented immigrants.
At 3 p.m., officials with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSO) confirmed several people had been arrested, ending a two-hour-long standoff at a home on Camillia Court.
Later, officials confirmed that at least nine people, suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, were taken into custody at the home by U.S. Border Patrol agents.
The ordeal began at around 11:30 a.m. after an officer tried to pull over two people in a car near Interstate 805 and Orange Avenue for a vehicle code violation, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSO) said.
The deputy was part of a multi-agency narcotics interdiction operation being conducted in the area.
As the driver was being questioned, the passenger -- now identified as Fernando Salas -- resisted arrest. A deputy suffered a minor injury to his knee while trying to detain Salas, the SDSO said.
Salas ran away, and law enforcement launched a search for him by ground and helicopter, checking backyards and sheds.
He had run into a nearby home on a cul-de-sac on Camellia Court and refused to come out. The SDSO feared he was possibly armed and just before 1 p.m., the department's Special Enforcement Detail was called to the neighborhood and a standoff ensued.
Within two hours, Salas came out of the home. He was arrested for resisting an executive officer. Another person inside the house, Angel Garcia, was not linked to the initial traffic stop but was arrested for felony child endangerment.
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During the standoff, the SDSO said several other people ran from the house. They were arrested by Border Patrol officials on suspicion of being undocumented. Border Patrol is now investigating whether the home was being used for human trafficking.
The SDSO said the driver in the traffic stop, Daniel Garcia, was arrested for possession of drugs and possession of metal knuckles.
No further details were released. Other than the deputy, no one else was hurt during the traffic stop or standoff.
