Man jailed after SWAT team and K9 unit ended standoff

FARMINGTON – An armed Bloomfield man who was arrested Dec. 20 after a two-and-a half-hour-long standoff inside and outside a residence is being held in the county jail.

Oscar Manuel Rubio, 35, was arrested on a failure to appear in court and an out-of-state warrant and was still being held in the San Juan County Adult Detention Center on Dec. 22.

Investigators said charges will come from the standoff, which involved a SWAT team and a police dog.

“Oscar Rubio was arrested for his outstanding warrants, which included a felony warrant out of Colorado for Failure to Comply in connection to an incident where he shot at La Plata County deputies on September 28, 2022,” Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Kristi Hughes said in a news release. “He also had a felony warrant in New Mexico for Felon in Possession of a Firearm.”

No criminal charges against the defendant were filed in San Juan County in the court database as of Dec. 22, but San Juan County Sheriff’s Office investigators are looking at Rubio in connection with some weapons incidents.

“Recently, he was an involved party in a shooting in Bloomfield on December 16 with an uncooperative victim,” the news release noted. “Following a thorough ongoing investigation, Rubio will also be facing pending charges for the December 20 incident.”

The arrest Dec. 20 happened after police responded to a report of a shot fired at a home on County Road 2892. Witnesses on the scene accused Rubio of pistol-whipping them and Sheriff’s personnel secured the area.

A Farmington K9 unit also joined the scene.

“The Crisis Intervention Team was called on scene and negotiators were able to communicate with Rubio to try and negotiate a peaceful surrender,” the release stated. “ They had learned that Rubio had warrants, was in possession of a firearm, and was not willing to go back into police custody.”

As police moved a SWAT team in place the suspect exited the residence, and police then secured the house so he could not go back inside.

“After developing a tactical plan, at 2:10 pm deputies moved in on Rubio, releasing the K9 unit, and deployed a less-lethal beanbag,” the release stated. “As deputies took him into custody, a firearm was recovered next to Rubio, that had fallen off his person when he tried to flee.”

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Man jailed after SWAT team and K9 unit ended standoff