A day-long standoff in Los Alamos that prompted the shutdown of Highway 101 ended Friday evening when a Santa Barbara County sheriff’s SWAT team used tear gas to drive a possibly armed man from the home where he was holed up.
The man was taken into custody without incident at about 5:35 p.m., according to sheriff’s Lt. Ray Vuillemainroy.
He was identified Friday night as Ronald Carrari, 56, of Los Alamos, according to Kelly Hoover, a sheriff’s spokeswoman.
Carrari was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats and resisting arrest, Hoover said, adding that additional charges may follow.
Deputies responded to a home on the 9600 block of South Highway at about 10:45 a.m. to contact a man who allegedly made threats to his sister, Vuillemainroy said.
Carrari saw deputies, ran into his house and wouldn’t come out, Vuillemainroy said.
Authorities had been trying to make contact ever since.
“It appears he’s fairly unstable, he may be unstable due to a death in his family a couple days ago. We have mental health professionals at the scene and negotiators here, but at the time he hasn’t answered the phone or made any contact,” he said earlier in the afternoon.
Sheriff’s personnel spent hours trying to make contact and resolve the situation “as peacefully as possible,” Vuillemainroy said.
Authorities believed Carrari was alone in the house.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department closed off Highway 101 in both directions at about 3:30 p.m., Undersheriff Bernard Melekian told Noozhawk.
The California Highway Patrol closed Highway 101 at Bell Street in Los Alamos for southbound traffic, and at Highway 246 (at Buellton) for northbound traffic.
Highway 101 was shut down so no drivers would be in danger, since the home is close to the roadway, according to Vuillemainroy. It took time to get units mobilized and to the scene, he said.
The highway was reopened once the man was taken into custody.
California Highway Patrol Officer John Ortega advised northbound drivers to use Highway 246 (which runs from Buellton to Lompoc) and the CHP activated highway signs to warn drivers the road is closed near Buellton.
— 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.
