By Gina Yarbrough
Fallbrook, CA–A man who burglarized a local gun store, and refused to exit the building, led to a SWAT standoff Wednesday in Fallbrook, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said.
Deputies responded to a commercial burglary around 8:52 p.m. in the 1000 block of Main Street, in the unincorporated community of Fallbrook.
An unidentified man forced entry into the gun store and began gathering firearms, and ammunition from the display cases. The owner of the business was able to access video surveillance remotely and provide the information to law enforcement, according to Sheriff’s Department Lieutenant Aldo Hernandez
Deputies, with the assistance of the Oceanside Police Department and the California Highway Patrol, surrounded the building and set up a road closure on Main Street.
SWAT and Crisis Negotiation Team responded to the scene in an attempt to communicate with the armed suspect. The man refused to comply with authorities.
At around 11:31 p.m., the man exited the building and began to run in an attempt to flee. A Sheriff’s K-9 was deployed, and he was apprehended. The suspect, later identified as 29-year-old Guillermo Macias, sustained minor injuries during the arrest. Macias was in possession of six loaded firearms stolen from the business.
Macias was taken to Palomar Hospital for medical treatment and will be booked into the Vista Detention Facility on charges of commercial burglary and possession of the stolen property.