Behind the Badge
A standoff that lasted more than five hours ended peacefully in Fullerton on Wednesday after police located and took into custody a man suspected of being part of a four-person team of would-be residential burglars.
Three of the suspects were arrested shortly after the noon call came in Jan. 13 regarding suspicious persons in the 1400 block of West Southgate Avenue.
As officers arrived on the scene, the fourth suspect, later identified as Steven Sanchez, 19, of Paramount, tossed his handgun on the ground and fled.
North County SWAT officers roll to the scene of a standoff Wednesday in the 1800 block of West Avenue in Fullerton.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
He holed himself up in a vacant church, prompting the assistance of North County SWAT, the Anaheim PD’s K9 unit and a Huntington Beach PD and California Highway Patrol helicopter.
The standoff in the 1800 block of West Avenue ended around 6 p.m. when North County SWAT officers located Sanchez in the church and arrested him without incident.
The other suspects are Romell Knutt, 21, of Los Angeles; and Allen Cato, 19, of Los Angeles. The fourth suspect, 15, is not being identified by the FPD because he is a minor.
Steven Sanchez. FPD booking photo
Romell Knutt. FPD booking photo
Allen Cato. FPD booking photo
A Fullerton PD officer stands guard on West Avenue near Brookhurst Road in Fullerton as a possibility armed male hides in a vacant building.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
People from the Sierra Health Center hug after being released from the building on West Avenue near Brookhurst Road in Fullerton as police search for a possibility armed male suspect Wednesday.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
North County SWAT members climb a Fullerton Fire Truck ladder to the roof of a building to search for the suspect.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
A North County SWAT officer gives a thumbs-up to team members after climbing a Fullerton Fire Truck ladder to the roof of a building in search of a suspect.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
North County SWAT team members from Fullerton, La Habra, Placentia and La Palma ride a SWAT vehicle up to a church building where a possibility armed male was holed up Wednesday.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
A North County SWAT officer with his K9 from the Fullerton PD stands guard. Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
