Sheriff’s deputies arrested a Lompoc man after a 45-minute standoff early Wednesday morning.
Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies responded to a Vandenberg Village residence for a domestic violence dispute call at 1 a.m. Wednesday, Sheriff’s Deparment spokeswoman Kelly Hoover said.
The female victim at that residence said she had been physically assaulted by her boyfriend, who then left, according to authorities.
Deputies then went to the home the man shares with his grandmother.
When they arrived, Johnny William Argel, 38, came out of an upstairs bedroom holding what appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun to his head, Hoover said.
Argel agreed that his grandmother, a 91-year-old woman, should be removed from the house and deputies carried her out safely, Hoover said.
There was a 45-minute standoff between Argel and law enforcement officers, including deputies and Lompoc police, before he set down the gun and allowed deputies to take it, Hoover said.
It turned out to be an airsoft-type replica gun that looks like a Glock handgun, she noted.
Argel was taken into custody and booked on suspicion of false imprisonment and felony assault with a deadly weapon against the female victim.
He is being held at the Santa Barbara County Jail on $1 million bail.
— Noozhawk news editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
