Two suspects with a history of violent crime refused to surrender to police in Escondido Wednesday, resulting in a SWAT standoff.
Police attempted to arrest the suspects in a house on the 500 block of West 7th Avenue and South Pine Street in Escondido at around 1 p.m., according to the Escondido Police Department.
Detectives called the home, but the suspects didn’t answer. They also made announcements on a bullhorn to get the suspects to come out of the home to no avail.
The suspects refused to surrender and, at about 2 p.m., police called in a SWAT team for assistance.
Police confirmed the suspects, a man and a woman, had a history of violent crime.
During the standoff, SWAT officers deployed tear gas into the home to get the suspects to come out. When they didn’t come out, officers went inside the home to search for them.
SWAT officers found both suspects hidden in a small closet inside the house. The woman and man were both taken into custody without incident by 4:30 p.m.
Streets in the area were closed as of about 3:30 p.m. as police responded to the incident. Some surrounding homes were also temporarily evacuated.
No one was injured and evacuated residents were later able to get back into their homes. The roadways re-opened by around 6 p.m.
Police later identified the standoff suspects as Hector Robles, 30, and Diana Ponce, 24.
Detectives had been looking for Robles and Ponce because they’re suspects in recent crimes that happened in Escondido earlier this month. Detectives said the alleged crimes were violent in nature and weapons were involved.
Police said one of the crimes was a home invasion robbery, burglary, assault with a deadly weapon and a separate incident involved possession of firearms.
Robles and Ponce will also be charged with obstruction and delaying police stemming from Wednesday’s standoff situation, officials said.
