UPDATED: Man barricades self inside Azusa motel room

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UPDATE: The suspect surrendered to police about 7:45 p.m., per Azusa police Lt. Tim Harrington. He was taken to a hospital to be examined and was expected to face charges of felony vandalism and resisting arrest.

AZUSA — A SWAT team responded to an Azusa motel Saturday after a man with a history of violence against police began tearing apart his motel room, then barricaded himself inside for more than eight hours when police arrived, officials said.
Police were summoned to the Arrow Inn, 469 E. Arrow Highway, about 10:15 a.m. when motel staff reported a 50-year-old guest was breaking items inside room 110, Azusa police Lt. Tim Harrington said.
When officers arrived, the man shouted at the officers and locked himself inside the room, the lieutenant said. He declined to disclose exactly what the suspect said, but described it as “threatening in nature.”
It was unclear whether the man had any weapons with him.
His identity was known to police, though it was not released as the stand-off continued Saturday afternoon. The man has a previous conviction for battery on a police officer.
Shortly after the stand-off began, “Water started coming from under the door, so he did something to the plumbing,” Harrington said.
1020_NWS_SGT-L-MOTEL2A SWAT team responded to the scene to deal with the holed-up suspect. The team took tactical positions around the room, periodically advancing up toward the door, then backing off.
A person who said knows the man well but did not wish to be identified said he suffers from bipolar disorder and had left his home in Covina Tuesday and never returned. He was believed to have been binging on alcohol and drugs.
More than a dozen people evacuated from the motel watched and waited from a sidewalk across the street for the situation to draw to a close.
Several of them said they were surprised that the man, who they described as calm, was involved in such an incident.
“I know him. I didn’t think he would do something like that,” said motel guest Becky Herrera.
Another guest at the motel, Christopher Martine, said at the outset of the incident he heard banging noises coming from the room two doors down, along with the sound of keys handling.
When Martin went outside, he said another guest told him he might want to get back inside because the police had arrived. He then noticed that a lamp from the nearby motel room had been thrown through a window.
Martin said hotel staff then told him he should stay in his room. About five minutes later, police came to his door to tell him to hurriedly evacuate. He did even have time to put on a shirt.
Police then began trying to coax the man out of the room, Martin said, telling him, “You’re not in trouble, we just want to talk to you. We need to know if you’re injured.”
The standoff continued past 6 p.m.

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