Stabbing Suspect Arrested After Standoff In Oceanside

OCEANSIDE, CA — A 20-year-old man suspected of stabbing his 20-year-old wife was arrested Tuesday morning following a seven-hour standoff at an Oceanside apartment, police said.

Dispatchers received reports around 5:30 p.m. Monday that a woman had been stabbed in her neck and arm outside the Mission Hills Apartments on Rancho Del Oro Drive, north of San Ramon Drive, according to the Oceanside Police Department.

Fox5 reported that a man who witnessed the stabbing fired at least one shot to get the suspect to release the woman outside the apartment complex. Oceanside police spokesman Tom Bussey said investigators found no evidence of any shots fired.

When officers arrived, they found the victim being treated by neighbors in a nearby apartment, Bussey said.

The woman was airlifted to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla for treatment of her injuries, which were not believed to be life-threatening, the police spokesman said.

Witnesses told officers the man had fled into an apartment and officers spotted the suspect inside an apartment holding a knife, Bussey said. A SWAT team was called to the scene after nearly two hours of attempting to convince the suspect to surrender.

The SWAT team deployed flash-bang grenades at about 10 p.m., Fox 5 reported.

At about 1 a.m., SWAT officers entered the apartment and deployed a police dog along with "several less than lethal munitions" to take the suspect into custody, Bussey said. The suspect suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene by paramedics.

The suspect, identified as 20-year-old Vixiano Chestertal, was booked into San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of attempted murder, according to jail records. He was being held without bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Feb. 19.

— City News Service