UPDATE: Armed Suspects Who Barricaded Themselves Inside Natomas Condo Identified
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - A SWAT standoff ensued after two armed fugitive parolees hid inside of Park Place condominiums Wednesday afternoon in Natomas.
There was a desperate call into the CBS13 newsroom seeking surrender as a best friend tried to help a suspect involved in the Natomas standoff.
It all started at the condos on 2100 Club Center Drive between Natomas Boulevard and Regency Park Circle just before 4 p.m.
"We heard the suspect say he had a gun, and he wasn't going to come out alive, that he was going to kill himself," witness Justin Graham said.
This was the message from the suspect to investigators. He would not give up easily.
"He started talking back, saying 'I ain't going back to jail. I ain't going back.' He just started talking, 'I'm going to kill myself,' " witness Isaiah Herndon said.
It was supposed to be an arrest of a wanted felon, but it turned into a SWAT situation.
"They told security in the apartments to evacuate everybody, because he's armed and dangerous," said Monique Hollman-Hackett.
Investigators say they tracked the suspect to the condo Wednesday morning, watching it for several hours at first. Then, at a fast food restaurant, Sacramento County sheriff's deputies drew their guns on a man they believed to be the suspect.
"We was at the drive-thru and they just came with their guns, and was like, 'put your hands up;' and I was like, 'put my hands up, what did I do,' " said Keenen Sterling.
"They had, like, a rifle with a scope pointed at the windshield. They rushed up with a gun pointed at his head," said Graham.
It turned out, Sterling and Graham actually live next to the suspect, and the two were always suspicious of him.
"They have activity in and out late at night," said Graham.
The suspect's friend called CBS13 to say she was in contact with him. She said he was nervous, scared and would surrender peacefully once he saw his brother.
It's unknown if negotiators fulfilled his request; but several hours into the SWAT situation, main suspect Kiyen Matthews, 33, and another parolee, David Wilson, 28, finally came out of the condo and surrendered peacefully just after 6 p.m.
"We moved from the other side of Natomas to move to a better area; and we move over here and just really surprised this would happen in our neighborhood," said Graham.
Wilson arrested and booked on a parole violation. Matthews was booked without bail on robbery and weapons charges.
