LOS ANGELES (AP) - A suspect in an auto theft was arrested Thursday after a bizarre five-hour standoff on the rooftops of a Westwood neighborhood.

Police SWAT members finally climbed the roof of a home and peppered the man with bean-bag ammunition.

That persuaded him to scramble over to a truck-mounted ramp, and he was lowered to the ground and handcuffed, Officer Karen Rayner said. The suspect's name was not immediately released.

No one was seriously injured during the confrontation, which began around 8 a.m. when police began following a reportedly stolen Toyota Camry.

After a short chase, the driver stopped, ran and climbed onto a roof a block east of the University of California, Los Angeles, police said.

The standoff was broadcast live throughout the morning from a KTTV-TV news helicopter that showed the man hopping from rooftop to rooftop of several homes as police flooded the neighborhood.

No homes were evacuated. Police surrounded the home, and crisis negotiators made unsuccessful efforts to get the man to come down.

The suspect attempted to climb down a tree several times but returned to second-floor rooftops when he spotted officers nearby.

At one point, officers used ladders to get onto the roof and got within 20 feet of the suspect, urging him to surrender.

But he jumped to the rooftop of another home. When officers placed a ladder in front of the suspect at one point, he ran away and leaned against a fireplace to smoke what appeared to be a cigarette.

Moments later, the agitated man raised his arms and appeared to be taunting officers as he paced back and forth on rooftops, jumping from house to house.


(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

share this story:
facebook
email





Proposal to rename Soap Lake is deferred

There won't be a quick decision on a strongly debated proposal to change the name of central Washington's Soap Lake to Lake Smokiam.


Radke

What rhymes with marijuana?

Bill Radke rhymes the news... from Monday to Friday it's the week in a nutshell.




Debating the merits of the Seahawks' QB approach

Mike Salk explains why he disagrees with a national writer's contention that Pete Carroll and the Seahawks have gone about their search for a quarterback the wrong way.


Feds say Colorado wildfire started on camp stove

Hundreds of firefighters are battling a blaze fueled by warm, dry weather in northern Colorado that federal officials say started with a camp stove.


Probation for builder of Calif.'s Phonehenge West

The man who built an eccentric Mojave Desert compound known as Phonehenge West was placed on five years' probation on Friday and ordered to serve 63 days community service, five of them at the county morgue.

most popular

  1. 'Top Gun' request highlights absurdity in child rape case
    Weldon Marc Gilbert, the millionaire Lake Tapps, Wash., pilot and convicted pedophile...
  2. Unions question trustworthiness of Wal-Mart ahead of Bellevue opening
    The Wal-Mart grocery store that has planned to move into the Kelsey Creek Center...
  3. Seattle billionaires' car and home for sale
    The News Chick: A fictional Seattle billionaire's penthouse, a real local billionaire's...
  4. What motorists don't know about cyclists
    Thousands of extra wheels will be on roads in the Northwest for bike-to-work day...
  5. Mother's boyfriend arrested in beating of infant son and 3-year-old
    An 18-month-old and his 3-year-old brother are in the hospital after allegedly being...




mynorthwest.com
Copyright © 2012 Bonneville International. All rights reserved.