A 28-year-old man and 27-year-old woman who were barricaded inside an apartment in Irvine for more than eight hours following a high-speed pursuit of a stolen vehicle were in custody Thursday.
Irvine Police Department officers responded to The Village at Irvine Spectrum apartment complex, located at 50 Prism and near Spectrum and Irvine Center Drive, at about 9 a.m. Wednesday on reports of a possibly stolen vehicle, according to Irvine Police Department Sgt. Karie Davies.
Police contacted a man who said he met Daniel Ramirez and his girlfriend Mallory Arredondo several days earlier. He said the two asked to borrow his Ford Mustang on Wednesday, then took the car without permission after he refused.
An IPD officer saw the vehicle at about 12:25 p.m. Wednesday and attempted to stop it. The driver fled and a short chase ensued, but it was called off because of the suspect’s dangerous driving, Davies said.
Officers found the unoccupied vehicle with its engine running at about 12:45 p.m. Wednesday in the underground parking structure at the apartment complex.
Officers made repeated attempts to contact the owner of the car by phone, but there was no answer. Officers believed the man was inside his residence and possibly in danger due to the “suspicious circumstances,” Davies said.
IPD officers evacuated neighboring apartments and the Orange County Fire Authority was requested to stage nearby to provide immediate aid to anyone injured.
Police deployed a drone to service the area and broadcast an announcement that they were searching for Ramirez and Arredondo, Davies said.
The man exited his apartment following the announcements and the door closed behind him. The man later told officers he was pistol-whipped and held against his will by Ramirez and Arredondo, but was allowed to leave after they heard the announcements, according to The Orange County Register.
The man also told officers that Ramirez and Arredondo, who barricaded themselves in the apartment, were armed with multiple firearms.
An IPD SWAT team responded to the scene at about 6:55 p.m. Wednesday and after hours of negotiation without a resolution, the SWAT team fired less-than-lethal rounds to break windows of the residence, according to a police statement.
Arredondo exited the apartment at about 8:45 p.m. Wednesday and Ramirez surrendered approximately 10 minutes later. Both were detained by IPD officers.
Investigators searched the apartment and found a non-serialized AR-15 assault rifle and two handguns in various states of disassembly, Davies said. Ammunition for one of the handguns was also recovered.
Detectives said they believed Ramirez disassembled the weapons when officers were negotiating his surrender, Davies said.
Ramirez was arrested and booked at the Orange County Jail for kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats and outstanding warrants.
Detectives will request firearm charges be added against Ramirez by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office if appropriate, Davies said.
Arredondo was arrested for outstanding warrants, cited and released from the IPD custody facility.
Anyone with information of the case was asked to contact Detective Jason Renshaw at 949-724-7244 or jrenshaw@cityofirvine.org.