A standoff suspect surrendered peacefully to SWAT officers about six hours after police were called to a hotel in National City Thursday.
Officials with the National City Police Department said a man barricaded himself in a SUV outside the E-Z 8 motel on Outer Road in Otay Mesa. He was suspected in an earlier hit-and-run crash in National City.
NCPD Sgt. Tom Wilkins later identified the suspect as San Diego resident Christopher Marquez, 34. Wilkins told NBC 7 Marquez was also being sought by police for a felony warrant, auto theft and felony evasion.
Investigators said a woman who was inside the SUV with Marquez surrendered when officers arrived at the location on Outer Road. Marquez, however, hopped into the backseat of the SUV and stayed inside the vehicle. At that point, police thought the suspect was possibly armed.
He refused to come out.
At around 12:30 p.m., an officer and K-9 unit were seen walking torward the motel.
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Negotiations with the suspect unfolded. Marquez had one request.
"He asked to see his mom, and we complied," said NCPD Lt. Alex Hernandez. "We agreed to it."
After police granted Marquez's request, he surrendered. He was taken into custody just after 4 p.m. No one was hurt in the standoff, and police were grateful for that.
Hernandez called the negotiations and result "textbook" for the way an incident like this should end.
"This is the way you wanted it to end? This is how we want it to end," he said. "We communicated with him, we didn’t rush anything, and the results were exactly what we wanted."
Wilkins confirmed Friday that Marquez was not armed, and no firearm was located in or around the SUV.
