Police trap suspect on roof

Photo by Michael Woodward

Anderson Police Officers and Shasta County Sheriff's Deputies surround a Rupert Road house in Anderson where a young man headed after attempting to run over at least two Anderson Police Officers with an ATV while riding it through Anderson River Park. The man briefly hid in the attic crawl space of a house, but then gained access to the roof where authorities tried to talk him down.

Photo by Michael Woodward

A young man who allegedly ran from Anderson Police Officers after trying to run over them with an ATV in Anderson River Park ended up in the attic crawl space of a Rupert Road house before police could flush him out with assistance from a K-9. The athletic young man, however, stood on the ladder and swung himself onto the roof.

Photo by Michael Woodward

Searching: Citizens on Patrol members Duane Berg and Debe Hopkins search for a backpack on Friday that a sususpect dropped or hid while evading police in the Anderson River Park on Sept. 1.

A suspect standing on the roof of a residence off Rupert Road in Anderson had no where to go on Wednesday morning, Sept. 1, with police surrounding the one-story ranch house. The suspect, Juan Carlos Garcia, 27, of Redding, was first reported as approaching several houses on his bicycle by a Davey Lane resident. The man claimed he had permission to pick berries on the property, but the resident determined this was not true, according to a police report by Captain Robert Kirvin.

The man then fled from Anderson Police officers through the Anderson River Park on his bicycle as officers set up a perimeter around the area.

"He jumped a lot of fences," Kirvin said.

Shortly after fleeing into a nearby trailer park, the suspect stole an all terrain vehicle to make a getaway. During the chase, Shascom reported a vehicle was broken into at the river park and a buck knife missing from the truck. Webb said the suspect has not brandished a knife.

In pursuit on foot, an Anderson officer breathlessly reported on radio that the man nearly ran into him and a sheriff's deputy. Kirvin later acknowledged that the suspect did not yield, but the officers were not in danger. The suspect then wrecked the ATV into a barbed wire fence, Webb said.

Kirvin said the vehicle was wrapped up in the barbed wire and said Garcia must have been ejected from the vehicle.

The suspect then ran toward Rick Lahey's home on Travelled Way, a private drive off Rupert Road.

At about 8:45 a.m., Lahey, 51, was stretched out on the couch with a wrapped broken leg when he heard "a rumbling" of someone running on his roof or attic. He looked out his window to see officers looking in. Lahey said he called 911 to tell law enforcement that the suspect made it onto his roof, probably from his back patio.

As officers surrounded the residence, the suspect entered the attic from an outside access, the covering to which was thrown aside, Lahey said.

With officers from Anderson, sheriff's office and a K-9 unit from Redding, the suspect was warned that the dog would be released on him, Lahey said. Knowing his attic, Lahey said the man could fall through the insulation. Officers helped Lahey into a wheelchair so he and his mother could leave the residence.

Officers continued negotiating with the suspect, who kicked out another vent at another end of the attic, poked his head out and found himself surrounded. Officers placed a ladder up against the house to the vent for the suspect to climb down.

At about 10:15 a.m., the man got onto the ladder and swung himself onto the roof. Now in his socks, the suspect paced back and forth on the roof, talking to officers.

As of 10:45 a.m., officers were still talking to Garcia. Officers did not send the K-9 unit after him, however, because there was not enough room to work in the attic, Webb said. Also, officers did not send the dog onto the roof because the dog may injure itself by jumping or falling off the roof to follow the suspect.

The suspect eventually climbed down from the roof and taken into custody without incident at about 11 a.m.

Officers continued searching the river park last week for a backpack the suspect was initially carrying that he dropped or hid while fleeing officers.

Garcia was booked into Shasta County Jail on parole hold, according to Kirvin's statement. Charges against Garcia will include theft and resisting arrest, Kirvin said.

An earlier version of this story referred to the incident occurring on Rupert Road, which coincided with reports from police officers and residents. City records show the actual name of the unmarked, private street off Rupert Road is Travellers Way, said Steve Ayers, building inspector.