INTRUDER SETS OFF BURGLAR ALARM / SWAT – CNT CALLED OUT
NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Deputy Jesse Tovar / PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Direct: (915) 538-2119
Pager: (915) 533-0733 (#5370)
WWW.EPCSO.ORG
Release Date / Time:
SECTION: El Paso County Sheriff’s Office – Upper Valley Patrol
EVENT: Alarm Call Leads to Burglary Call / SWAT Call –Out / Intruder Escapes
LOCATION OF OCCURRENCE: 300 block of La Florida Canutillo, TX
DATE / TIME: Tuesday, 07-28-09 6:42 PM
RESULT: Intruder eludes capture / investigation continues
Canutillo, TX- Late Tuesday evening 07-28-09 at 7:42 PM, Sheriff’s Deputies were responding to a Burglar Alarm call at a residence located in the 300 block of La Florida in Canutillo, TX. A Sheriff’s Deputy patrolling nearby arrived at the residence to find the rear door (forced entry)completely open & observed a male subject flee into the home. An assisting APD Officer arrived moments later where he
& the Deputy began clearing the home room to room. While conducting a protective sweep of the home, authorities noticed the cover / hatch leading to the attic appeared to be breached / moved. Responding Deputies arrived moments later & established an outer perimeter of the home & assisted in clearing the residence.
While Deputies were securing the home, a noise (movement) suddenly emitted from the attic area. Deputies believing the subject had made his way into the attic attempted to call out to the subject several times in an effort to get him to surrender- but no contact was made. After making a safety assessment of the incident, Sheriff’s Office SWAT & Crisis Negotiators were summoned to the scene.
SWAT arrived & assembled on scene relieving the Deputies who had secured the interior of the home. The Crisis Negotiation Team then moved into position & began assessing the situation. SWAT deployed a “throw phone” (line of communication) into the attic in an attempt to make contact with the alleged intruder. After about an hour of not making contact with the subject. EPPD K-9 was requested. EPPD K-9 Team along with SWAT members made their way into the attic & searched the area but were not able to locate the subject. SWAT conducted a secondary search of the home but to no avail did not locate the intruder.
It was later determined that the cover / hatch to the attic which had been moved by the intruder had toppled over as the residence was getting cleared causing the noise. It was confirmed by the homeowner that the attic entry way had no reason to be open. Sheriff’s Officials also determined that as the responding Deputy & APD Officer (2) were conducting a protective sweep of the large home from room to room, the subject managed to escape through one of the 5 exits.
Right now, Sheriff’s Deputies are still following a strong lead on who is responsible for the break-in as the investigation continues. The homeowners were not home at the time of the incident. Neighboring homes were evacuated.
“Despite not finding the offender, safety measures were taken for all involved, we treated the scene / situation as if there was an individual barricaded inside the home”- said Deputy Jesse Tovar
END OF NEWS RELEASE
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office in March of 2001 was the first Sheriff’s Office in the State of Texas to be Internationally Accredited from CALEA and is now the recipient of the First CALEA Tri-Arc award in Texas (4th in the Nation) to have accreditations in: Law Enforcement, Communications, Training Academy.