Downtown LA

Bat-Wielding Man Taken Into Custody Outside of Downtown LA's Hall of Justice

The standoff lasted more than 2 hours and forced road closures.

A bat-wielding man suspected of vandalizing a Metro station held deputies at bay for about three hours Tuesday outside the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles.

The man matched the description of a suspect who had used a baseball bat around noon to smash an information case worth thousands of dollars and menace passengers at the Vermont/Athens Metro Green Line station in the 11600 block of Vermont Avenue, according to Ramon Montenegro of the sheriff's Transit Policing Division.

The suspect fled the location, possibly on a train, but was spotted by deputies about 1:15 p.m. in front of the Hall of Justice at 211 W. Temple St,, Montenegro said.

"When deputies approached, the suspect became agitated and began pacing back and forth holding the bat in his hand, while wearing a large backpack,'' Montenegro said. "Fearing for the suspect's and the public's safety, deputies closed portions of Spring Street and Temple Street."

Mental Evaluation Team deputies and crisis negotiators were summoned and around 4:15 p.m. the man, whose name was not immediately released, was taken into custody without further incident.

He was arrested and booked on suspicion of felony vandalism with bail set at $25,000, Montenegro said.

The case remained under investigation and additional allegations were possible, he said.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
Contact Us