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Fallbrook SWAT standoff prompted by man holed up in apartment

Posted at 5:06 PM, Mar 06, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-07 08:18:36-05

FALLBROOK (CNS) - A 22-year-old man was behind bars Tuesday for allegedly barricading himself in a Fallbrook apartment for hours in an apparent effort to delay his arrest in connection with an outstanding warrant.

Authorities searching for Joshua Villegas, who was named in a felony arrest warrant for assault with a deadly weapon, spotted him as he arrived at an apartment complex on Alturas Road near Sancado Terrace shortly before 3:30 p.m. Monday, according to sheriff's officials.

At the time, Villegas was believed to have been armed and dangerous.

San Diego Fugitive Task Force officers obtained a search warrant and surrounded it the apartment, but Villegas remained inside.

Deputies cleared people out of surrounding rental units as a precaution.

A sheriff's department SWAT team was then summoned, sheriff's Sgt. Christopher Davis said.

Villegas surrendered and exited the unit shortly before 6 p.m. and was taken into custody.

Villegas was subsequently booked into jail and was being held in lieu of $200,000 bail, according to sheriff's officials and jail records.