A South Bay man accused of throwing a knife at an officer during an hours-long SWAT standoff triggered by a domestic violence incident was charged Friday with three felony counts of resisting an executive officer and one count of misdemeanor assault.
Ruben Moreno Aguirre, 45, of Chula Vista faces nearly four years in prison if convicted, said Deputy District Attorney John Dunlap. Aguirre had his arraignment pushed back to Tuesday because he wasn’t transported to the South Bay Courthouse.
Aguirre locked himself in his bedroom after he allegedly beat his girlfriend and father in the 200 block of East Oneida Street around 2 p.m. Wednesday.
The victims — who were not seriously injured in the fracas — fled the house along with the suspect’s toddler son, Chula Vista Police Department Lt. Fritz Reber said. He said Aguirre, who was believed to be armed with several kitchen knives, refused to surrender.
After several hours of trying in vain to coax the suspect out, police called in special weapons and tactics personnel to take up positions around the home, Reber said.
About 6 p.m., Aguirre began making suicide threats, then allegedly threw a knife out a window toward SWAT personnel approaching to put a telephone into the room so police could speak with him. Officers then fired a tear-gas canister into the home, forcing the suspect to flee outdoors.
While being taking into custody, Aguirre grew combative, shouting and spitting at police, Reber said.
The family fight, during which the suspect allegedly broke things and hurled furnishings around inside the house, grew out of a confrontation between him and his father over the younger man’s purported chronic drug abuse, the lieutenant said.
The suspect and the officers involved suffered no injuries during the standoff and arrest, Reber said.
— City News Service