SWAT officers were called in after a suspect refused to come out of a home in Wrigley on Wednesday, July 3, 2019. Photo by Valerie Osier.
SWAT officers were called in after a suspect refused to come out of a home in Wrigley on Wednesday, July 3, 2019. Photo by Valerie Osier.

After an hours-long standoff Wednesday morning, police arrested a suspected rapist who’d refused to come out of a home in Long Beach’s Wrigley neighborhood, according to authorities.

Gang and drug officers from the Los Angeles Police Department originally tried to serve an arrest warrant at the home on Chestnut Avenue near 19th Street around 5:35 a.m., LAPD officer Greg Kraft said.

Police said the suspect is a man in his 40s. He’s wanted in connection with a violent rape that was committed about six months ago in Los Angeles, Det. Meghan Aguilar said.

SWAT officers were called to the scene after the man barricaded himself inside, police said. Officers were telling neighbors to stay inside while they handled the situation. Police said they suspected the man was armed and dangerous. He has a violent criminal record, Aguilar said.

Authorities don’t think the suspect lives in the home where he was barricaded, but they believe he knows someone there. When police arrived, the homeowner came outside right away and cooperated with officers, Aguilar said.

Long Beach officers helped shut down streets in the area, and authorities took the man into custody around 9:40 a.m. He came out of the house unarmed and surrendered, Aguilar said.

Police said they would reopen the area after searching the home.

 

Jeremiah Dobruck is executive editor of the Long Beach Post where he oversees all day-to-day newsroom operations. In his time working as a journalist in Long Beach, he’s won numerous awards for his investigative reporting and editing. Before coming to the Post in 2018, he wrote for publications including the Press-Telegram, Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times. Reach him at [email protected] or @jeremiahdobruck on Twitter.

Valerie Osier is the Social Media & Newsletter Manager for the Long Beach Post. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @ValerieOsier