Surprise police arrested a man Wednesday afternoon after a day-long barricade situation, the department stated in a release.
On March 29 at about 8:30 a.m., Surprise Police Department officers and detectives, assisted by additional personnel from various agencies, went to a home in the 28800 block of N. 179th Ave. in an attempt to serve a felony arrest warrant for Christopher Ralston, a 48-year-old male, on a kidnapping charge.
Police tried calling out to Ralston for several minutes but received no response. However, they heard movement inside the home. Detectives then called the Crisis Negotiations Team and SWAT to respond in order ensure appropriate resources and tactics were utilized.
After continued attempts to call Ralston out, officials used several different robots and other devices to surveillance most of the home. Intelligence gained during the investigation led police to believe Ralston was possibly hiding in either the subfloor or crawl space below the home.
At about 4:40 p.m., officials saw Ralston exiting the subfloor of the home into an exposed portion of the crawl space. SWAT team members continued to ask Ralston to surrender, but he refused, saying he would rather die than go back to jail. At one point, Ralston told officers he was armed with a knife and a .45 caliber handgun.
As Ralston attempted to exit the crawl space and reenter the home, SWAT team members utilized less lethal devices to subdue him. Despite a struggle, officers were able to detain and arrest Ralston.
He will be booked into the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office 4th Avenue Jail.
According to the MCSO website, Ralston faces charges including one count each of unlawful imprisonment, threats, theft and disorderly conduct, and two counts each of assault and resisting arrest.
According to the Maricopa County Superior Court website, Ralston was scheduled to appear in court Feb. 14 for a sentencing hearing.
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The details regarding the incident above were provided by the Surprise Police Department.
(Photo courtesy Surprise PD)
