A man suspected of assaulting a woman in Vista was taken into custody on Tuesday more than five hours after a standoff began with San Diego County Sheriff's deputies.
The standoff began after the man, later identified as 49-year old David Paul Torres, allegedly slashed his girlfriend's arm with a knife just after 10 a.m., SDSO said.
When SDSO arrived to the residence at S. Santa Fe Drive and Buena Creek Road, an independent living facility, the man was allegedly confrontational and threatened deputies, SDSO said.
“He yelled down at the deputies basically saying, ‘If you come up, I’m going to blast you,’” Lt. Lt Jack Reynolds said.
The suspect barricaded himself inside the building. SDSO did not know if he was armed, so law enforcement evacuated the facility and established a perimeter outside the home.
The busy intersection at S. Santa Fe Drive and Buena Creek Road was shut down as a result. The North County Transit District shut down Breeze buses routes 305 and 332 and closed the Sprinter station located on the corner.
At one point, deputies broke out a window and appeared to set off a tear gas canister but the suspect still did not emerge.
Nearly five hours into the incident, SDSO served a search warrant at the home. A K9 was sent in and deputies pulled out Torres, who had some bite wounds from the K9 but was otherwise unharmed, according to SDSO.
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Torres was placed into the back of an ambulance for treatment and would be taken into SDSO custody. He faces charges of domestic violence and making criminal threats and false imprisonment.
