Salinas man arrested after seven hour standoff

What started as a routine traffic stop turned into a seven hour standoff in a Salinas neighborhood.

Around 3:15 p.m. Saturday, officers were in the area of Freedom Parkway and Cougar Drive when they stopped a Silver 2009 Toyota Tundra for minor vehicle code violations.

The driver, Luis Edgar Garcia, 29, a gang member, didn’t stop, according to police.

Police chased him and his car stalled on Freedom Parkway. He didn’t get out of the vehicle despite police asking him to do so. Garcia eventually got the car to start again and he drove to Antelope Drive and Bobcat Way.

Once there, he ran into his parents’ house on the 1500 block of Antelope Drive.

Police believe he could have been armed. The SWAT team was called in. After about seven hours, they went into the home and found Garcia hiding in the attic.

Garcia was booked into the Monterey County Jail for multiple charges.