Man faces multiple charges in West Side standoff

Suspect held officers at bay for 6 hours in 2000 block of S. Zarzamora

SAN ANTONIO – A 28-year-old man accused of being holed up for six hours Monday morning inside a West Side apartment and holding officers at bay faces a variety of criminal charges, San Antonio police said.

It wasn't immediately clear what charges would be filed against the man, but police said he held at least one woman hostage during the ordeal.

San Antonio police spokesman Sgt. Jesse Salame said police responded to a 911 call around 4 a.m. from a woman at an apartment complex in the 2000 block of South Zarzamora.

Salame said the woman told an officer she was visiting a friend at the complex and woke up to find a man attacking her friend.

"Saw the suspect beating and choking her friend. She also said he was armed with a handgun," Salame said.

Officers tried to communicate with the man, who they determined was the ex-boyfriend of the woman he was holding hostage, police said. About an hour later, the woman being held inside her home managed to escape, Salame said.

"The male had stepped out of the back of the apartment," he said. "When he stepped out the back of the apartment, the female who he had been holding hostage immediately ran out the front."

The man remained inside the home. Officers continued attempts to reach him by calling him on the phone and shouting at him with a bullhorn.

"He would come to the door, go back inside, make all kinds of demands about wanting to talk to people," Salame said.

Negotiators just before 10 a.m. managed to talk the man into coming outside. But he still wasn't fully cooperating, Salame said.

"He was given the commands to go down on his knees and get on the ground. He refused to comply so they utilized the less than lethal ammunitions, the beanbags, essentially," he said.

Salame said the man suffered minor injuries and was examined by paramedics at the scene before being taken to jail.

Police didn't immediately release the man's name.


About the Author:

Katrina Webber joined KSAT 12 in December 2009. She reports for Good Morning San Antonio. Katrina was born and raised in Queens, NY, but after living in Gulf Coast states for the past decade, she feels right at home in Texas. It's not unusual to find her singing karaoke or leading a song with her church choir when she's not on-air.