A 33-year-old man on parole for murder was in custody Tuesday morning following a nearly three-hour barricade in the patio of an apartment in Anaheim, which prompted the evacuation of a multi-story apartment complex and the closure of a major intersection near Angel Stadium.
About 6:45 p.m. Monday, officers saw the suspect, identified as Robert Lee Preston of Tustin, walking away from a stolen vehicle parked near the intersection of State College Boulevard and Katella Avenue and when police tried to contact Preston, he ran away and barricaded himself on the patio of a nearby apartment, according to Sgt. Jeff Mundy of the Anaheim Police Department.
“Preston told officers he was in possession of a bomb and a handgun, and that he would die before going back to jail,” Mundy said. Based on the suspect’s statements, police evacuated the multi-story apartment complex and traffic on Katella Avenue was blocked for more than three hours.
Anaheim police SWAT and the Orange County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad were called to the scene and after numerous attempts to talk with the suspect failed, and officers sent in a police dog, the sergeant said.
” When the K-9 got close to him, Preston assaulted the K-9 by punching, kicking and choking it,” Mundy said.
Preston was taken into custody about 9:45 p.m. and taken to a hospital for treatment and will be booked into the Anaheim Detention Facility on suspicion of auto theft, possession of stolen property and resisting arrest, he said. In addition to the new charges, Preston will be booked for a no-bail parole violation warrant.
No officers were injured, but the police dog suffered minor injuries.
Two replica handguns and two knives were recovered at the scene, but no bombs or bomb-making materials were found, police said.