SWAT Standoff Suspect Due in Court Tuesday

Originally published 3:15 p.m. June 22.

The domestic disturbance suspect who allegedly shot at and assaulted deputies, then holed up inside a neighbor's Imperial Beach home until he surrendered hours later, remained in jail without bail Saturday.

Richard Allen Perez, 30, was taken into custody about 11:45 a.m. Friday, following a nearly five-hour standoff, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

Perez was booked into San Diego Central Jail for suspicion of several offenses including burglary, assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, resisting executive officers and a parole violation, according to online jail records. 

He is scheduled to be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The chain of events that led to Perez's arrest began about 7 a.m. Friday, when neighbors reported a family disturbance in the 1400 block of 14th Street, sheriff's officials said.

The heavily tattooed man allegedly assaulted a responding deputy then ran off, authorities said. The deputy sustained minor injuries and was taken to a hospital.

The alleged assailant allegedly forced his way into a nearby apartment on Holly Avenue, which was surrounded. A retirement-age man who lives in the unit was able to escape unharmed, sheriff's officials said.

The suspect refused orders to surrender, and instead barricaded the front door and allegedly hurled furniture out of a second-floor window toward deputies, according to sheriff's officials.

Deputies fired so-called pepper balls, which release a strong chemical irritant, into the residence. The complex's adjoining units were evacuated as a precaution.

Witnesses reported hearing what sounded like gunfire, but it remained unclear whether shots actually were fired, according to sheriff's officials.

Perez begun speaking with crisis negotiators by late morning, and allowed himself to be taken into custody without further incident, sheriff's officials said.

– City News Service