P. v. Armenta
Police officers arrived at the home of defendant Joe Louis Armenta to arrest him on an outstanding warrant. One officer claimed that, in addition to knocking on the front door, he announced that they were the police; his supervisor, however, who was also knocking, did not remember this announcement.
Meanwhile, other officers opened a sliding glass door in the rear of the house. This caused an alarm to sound. Defendant started yelling. At this point, officers in both the front and rear announced their identity and purpose. Some officers then entered through the rear sliding glass door.
Defendant fired at least two shots at the officers. They fired back at him. There was a standoff for at least 40 minutes, during which the officers continued to announce their identity and purpose. Defendant fired one last shot before the officers managed to escape the house. It took a police negotiator about four hours to talk defendant into surrendering.
Defendant claimed that he mistook the officers for members of his former gang, which had put out a “green light†on him. When he realized his mistake, he tried to commit “suicide by cop.â€
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