A 24-year-old probationer suspected of taking a family member hostage and barricading himself inside his Moreno Valley residence, engaging in an hours-long standoff with deputies, was behind bars Tuesday.
Armando Martinez Jr. was arrested and booked into the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside Monday on suspicion of kidnapping, false imprisonment, making terrorist threats and probation violations.
According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, shortly after 8 a.m. Monday, deputies were sent to the 13000 block of Bearberry Drive, near Cottonwood Avenue, to investigate reports of a man armed with a knife, threatening relatives.
“Upon deputies’ arrival, the suspect, Martinez … barricaded himself inside a residence with a juvenile,” sheriff’s Sgt. Sheree Anthony said.
A search warrant was obtained for the property, after which sheriff’s SWAT members were summoned to the location, culminating in Martinez being taken into custody without further incident at 11:40 a.m.
Anthony said the youth, whose identity was not disclosed, was found in the house uninjured.
No deputies were hurt, nor was the suspect.
Background information on Martinez, including the crime that led to his term of probation, was unavailable.
