Hours-long standoff comes to an end after man taken down from roof
UPDATE: 3/11/18: Police arrested 52-year-old Raul Martin Ortiz for burglary, vandalism and resisting arrest charges.
Ortiz was taken into custody Sunday evening after a more than 10-hour rooftop standoff. The standoff took place Sunday on the roof of a Salinas home on the 100 block of Central Avenue near Capital Street.
Police eventually climbed up on the roof and after lengthy negotiations took Ortiz into custody.
“We had a couple officers who actually climbed up on the roof and when the time was right they were able to basically detain him,” Salinas PD public information officer Miguel Cabrera said.
Ortiz was a suspect in multiple nearby burglaries and police were alerted of his whereabouts when someone inside the called police.
The suspect is currently in the hospital receiving a mental evaluation. Police said the man’s mental state is something they had to account for during the standoff.
“Every situation is unique so you have to be there and basically digest the information and facts that you’re able to gather and then act accordingly,” Cabrera said.
While the strange standoff dragged on for hours on top of the house, several people were stuck inside the home. One person inside was Frank Martinez.
“They didn’t let no one out or no one in,” Salinas resident Frank Martinez said. “They had sealed off the whole block so basically it was a shutdown situation.”
Martinez said he thinks Ortiz was looking to break into his house.
“The sliding door was locked, the front door was locked, but he tried to get in from up top, and broke the glass,” Martinez said. “I think he seen it was too deep and didn’t want to take the chance.”
In addition to the inconvenience of being stuck inside all day, Monday, a handyman came to fix the broken skylight, which wasn’t the only mess Ortiz made.
“[Police] wanted to press charges for the damage that [he] did up there, because damage was done to our roof and there are repairs that need to be done,” Martinez said.
As for the length of the standoff, Salinas Police Department said sometimes it takes hours for things to end safely.
“The bottom line is we were able to negotiate him coming off the roof with a peaceful conclusion and nobody getting hurt,” Cabrera said.
Ortiz was not armed during the rooftop standoff. He’ll be booked in Monterey County Jail after he is released from the hospital.
PREVIOUS STORY: Salinas Police officials say a standoff is over after a man came down from a roof.
It happened on Central Avenue and Capitol Street. Officers were on scene since 7:30 this morning.
The man is believed to be a suspect in multiple burglaries in the area.
Authorities are now working to find answers as the man is questioned.
This is a developing story
