An Escondido motel turned into the site of a standoff Wednesday as San Diego SWAT officials arrested a man accused of robbing a convenience store with a fake gun.
Escondido Police Department Lt. Eric Skaja said there had been a robbery at a 7-Eleven on North Ash Street earlier in the morning and the suspect was possibly holed up inside one of the rooms at the Motel 6 at 900 N. Quince Avenue, near West Mission Avenue.
At 11:15 a.m., Skaja said SWAT officials were working to get a warrant and working with the victim of the robbery to identify the suspect. At around 11:55 a.m., a man was escorted from the motel and handcuffed. SWAT officials could be seen approaching the open door to a room and sending in a K-9.
A witness sent NBC 7 photos of SWAT officials surrounding a portion of the motel. The witness said officials were calling out a name, ordering a person to leave one of the rooms for about an hour. She said it looked like officials might ram the door open with a rod attached to a truck.
By 1 p.m., the situation appeared to be wrapped up.
Escondido Police Department officials told NBC 7 a suspect identified as Domi Gustavo Jimenez had been taken into custody.
Police described Jimenez as a transient from San Jose, California, with contacts in Escondido and San Diego County.
Police said Jimenez had allegedly robbed a nearby 7-Eleven store at around 2:30 a.m., flashing a fake gun and making off with an undisclosed amount of cash.
The robbery then led to a pursuit in which Jimenez sped off in a white sedan. He ditched the vehicle and was able to escape officers.
Police said investigators were able to track Jimenez to the Motel 6 location a few hours later.
Guests were evacuated from the first floor of the motel and SWAT and police units were called in after he refused to leave his room.
Ultimately, Jimenez was arrested. No one was injured in the standoff, police said.
Several witnesses watched the take-down of the suspect, including a man staying in a motel room next door who told NBC 7 he was awakened by the sound of police banging on the door.
A Motel 6 staffer told NBC 7 she couldn’t confirm SWAT activity at the motel, despite details from police.
