Crash Leads To Police Standoff In Coral Gables
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CORAL GABLES (CBSMiami) – It was a bizarre early morning wake up call in Coral Gables Monday.
Residents on the 400 block of Navarre Avenue found a vehicle smashed against a tree and the driver slumped over with guns on the seat.
"Police swarmed the street and approached with rifles but backed off," said resident Rick Lumpkin, who saw the drama unfold.
Police tried to have the driver exit his Escalade but he didn't cooperate.
SWAT was called in and managed to convince the driver to get out of the car without incident.
"He surrendered to them and we saw them pull a rifle out of the vehicle," said Lumpkin.
Police identify the driver as 36-year-old Valden Tatum.
He was charged with marijuana possession and issued a citation for the traffic crash.
Tatum has been arrested before, in 2008 for marijuana possession, 2009 for grand theft, again in 2010 for grand theft and arrested in 2015 for resisting arrest without violence.
Police say Tatum has no convictions and the weapons are legal.
The guns were taken for safe keeping while Tatum was taken to jail.
