A standoff which locked down a Turlock school and daycare Thursday afternoon came as U.S. Marshals worked with Turlock police to serve a warrant for murder.
The suspect barricaded himself inside his home, a townhouse located at the corner of North Walnut Road and Somerset Court, and refused to come out for approximately one hour.
Officers stood behind cars, pointing assault rifles at the home. They talked to the suspect using a megaphone, informing him that the house was surrounded.
“We are not going away,” police said. “Come out with your hands up."
An officer on scene described the effort as an attempt to “stabilize the situation” and convince the suspect to come out peacefully.
The suspect eventually came out after family members pleaded with him. The suspect’s mother, who was on scene, both called him on the phone and asked him over a loudspeaker to come out
The standoff involved at least 10 different law enforcement vehicles and scores of officers. The Turlock Police Department, Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, U.S. Marshals, and Stanislaus County Probation Department were all involved; even K-9 units, unmarked cars, and Turlock Animal Services were deployed to the scene.
Though there were people in the house at the time they were not harmed, Turlock Police Department spokesperson Mayra Lewis said.
A daycare adjacent to the standoff, A Special Place Day Care, was placed on lockdown during the standoff. Officers stood guard around the daycare, seemingly in case the suspect fled toward the daycare where children were present.
Other businesses on North Walnut Avenue were also placed on lockdown between Tuolumne Road and Georgetown Avenue, as was nearby Turlock Junior High School. The lockdowns have since been lifted, and no one was harmed.
The standoff came as the Turlock Police Department was asked for assistance in serving a warrant by U.S. Marshals. The warrant was a Ramey warrant, a special form of arrest warrant issued by a judge upon a police officer’s request; it bypasses district attorney involvement.
The suspect was originally wanted in a Stockton Police Department case, Lewis said. Lewis said the man was wanted for murder.
Stockton police confirmed that the suspect is a 19-year-old black male who is a person of interest in a homicide. The murder occurred in December, in Stockton.
Stockton police are not releasing the suspect’s name until after detectives speak with him and further information is gathered, they said.
Though the man is now in custody, Turlock police remained on scene Thursday afternoon. Lewis said that officers were in the process of obtaining a warrant to search the home for further evidence.
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