A man who prompted a SWAT standoff in Carlsbad Friday evening was ultimately located and arrested in National City, officials confirmed.
On Friday, just after 4 p.m., a woman called police to report that her friend needed help following some type of alleged domestic violence incident with her boyfriend.
Officers responded to the victim’s home in the 2800 block of Cazadero Drive in Carlsbad (see map below) and made contact with the woman outside the home.
The victim told police she had allegedly been battered and threatened by her boyfriend, Corey Nicholas, 35, who was reportedly still inside the home.
The victim related she had been battered and threatened by her 35 year old boyfriend, Corey Nicholas, who was reportedly still inside the residence.
Police tried to contact Nicholas inside the home by phone, but got no response.
This led officers to believe Nicholas had barricaded himself inside the house to avoid arrest, so the Carlsbad Police Department SWAT team was called to the scene.
As officials honed in on the home and secured the area, neighbors in surrounding homes were evacuated as a precaution. The area was on lockdown for nearly four hours.
SWAT officials used a flashbang and made several attempts by bullhorn to get Nicholas to come out, to no avail.
As officials prepared to enter the home to arrest Nicholas, police learned the suspect was not actually inside the home, and was possibly in National City.
On their end, the National City Police Department began searching for the suspect and located Nicholas at a Wal-Mart just after 8 p.m.
Nicholas was taken into custody and then handed off to Carlsbad police. He was then booked into jail on suspicion of domestic violence and making threats against his girlfriend.
Police believe he was able to flee the Carlsbad home sometime between the alleged assault and the phone call to police.
Back in Carlsbad, neighbors were eventually allowed to re-enter their homes.
Residents said this type of police activity is a first in the neighborhood, and they were quite surprised by everything that transpired.
Fay Stassis and George Macedo told NBC 7 the incident was “unsettling.”
“It’s a little unsettling because this is what they call a kids and cul-de-sac neighborhood,” said Macedo.
“It’s a very friendly neighborhood, so I think people are surprised. There was nothing that would indicate something like this,” added Stassis.
Officials say Nicholas’ girlfriend did not seek medical treatment, and no other victims were injured in the incident.
Police say they have been called to the Carlsbad home before and Nicholas has been previously arrested. However, officials did not release any information regarding that prior arrest.
