Update: SWAT team gets suspect in south Modesto after report of brandished gun, threats
Update: The suspect is in custody, sheriff’s Sgt. Luke Schwartz told The Bee just before 7:30 p.m. The SWAT team moved in after a warrant was signed, he said, and investigators were preparing to take over the case.
Original story: Law enforcement is asking people to stay out of the area of Dallas Street and Butte Avenue, where a perimeter has been set up as deputies try to locate a possibly armed man who apparently is “hunkered down” in the neighborhood.
About 1:50 p.m. Sunday, a report was called in about a family disturbance on the 1700 block of Dallas, said Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Luke Schwartz.
The preliminary investigation determined it was a case of weapons brandishing and criminal threats, he said. Deputies tried to make contact with the possibly armed man, who eventually was located by the sheriff’s helicopter crew.
Initially, deputies thought they were being fired upon, Schwartz said, but that turned out not to be the case. The suspect discarded a weapon, which law enforcement retrieved, but he has not surrendered. Shortly after 5 p.m., Schwartz said it had not been determined if the man has any other weapon.
“We are encouraging members of the community to stay out of the area,” Schwartz said. “We are working in tandem with Modesto police, Ceres police, the Modesto CHP, using air support and the armored vehicle.” He said the SWAT team had not been activated.
While there has not been an evacuation order, law enforcement is helping clear some residents from the area.
