A 30-year-old houseguest who allegedly threatened a resident with a knife, then barricaded himself in the home for more than eight hours and set a fire during the standoff with SWAT officers, was in custody Tuesday accused of arson and making criminal threats.
Abraham Jin Moon of Santa Clarita surrendered about 3 p.m. Monday after exiting the back door of the residence in the 3400 block of Willow Glen Lane, according to Rudy Lopez, public information officer with the West Covina Police Department.
Officers first responded to the home about 6:50 a.m. Monday after a resident at the home said a guest had threatened him with a knife, Lopez said.
“Officers arriving at the scene met with the resident outside the location and determined that the suspect was still inside the location,” Lopez said. “Officers were able to see the suspect holding two knives while wandering from room to room. After several hours, attempts to make contact with the suspect were unsuccessful.”
A SWAT team responded to the scene about 11:30 a.m. and deployed tear gas into the home about 2:40 p.m., according to Lopez.
“Shortly thereafter, it appeared that fires were being started at several locations in different rooms,” he said. “Members of the SWAT team escorted fire department personnel to the residence to allow them to safely extinguish the fires. The fire was isolated to the one home where the suspect was barricaded.”
No injuries were reported.
Moon was being held at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles, with bail set at $250,000, Lopez said.