Police: Possible Bomb Threat At Ceres Gas Station Unfounded, Suspect Arrested
CERES (CBS13) — Saturday Update: Ceres police identified the suspect as 31-year-old Armando Delacruz of Livingston.
Officers said Delacruz called 911 and reported he was being shot at and chased Friday night. When officers arrived at the Shell Gas Station on Fourth Street, they reported Delacruz said he had a bomb in his vehicle and that if he exited his vehicle, it would explode.
Officials said that due to the suspect's claims and the way he was acting, responding officers requested backup. Police reportedly asked Delacruz to exit his vehicle but he yelled that he could not get out of the truck due to the explosive device.
Due to the possible threat of an explosion, officers evacuated several nearby businesses and positioned armored vehicles around Delacruz's vehicle to prevent him from driving off.
After communicating with Delacruz through a public address system, officers determined that he was most likely under the influence of a controlled substance and said he was not speaking rationally.
Negotiations ensued with Delacruz for over an hour, but he continued to refuse to exit his vehicle.
Officers then forced the suspect out of his vehicle using pepper balls. The less lethal force forced Delacruz to roll out of the truck onto the ground and officers took him into custody without incident.
The truck was checked by a bomb robot and officers determined that no explosives or other weapons were located in the truck.
Officers cleared the scene by 11 p.m. Friday.
Delacruz was checked medically and was later booked into the Stanislaus County Jail. He is facing charges of being under the influence of drugs, reporting a false bomb threat, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
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Friday, 10 p.m. — A SWAT situation is currently underway at a Shell gas station at 4th & El Camino in Ceres, police said.
Ceres police said multiple units are on the scene. The incident started around 8:30 p.m. Friday.
A man working at the Shell station told CBS13 that a man in a white truck was driving erratically while being chased by police. The truck pulled over int he gas station and police attempted to approach the suspect's vehicle.
At that point, the Shell worker said the suspect yelled he has a bomb and that he is going to set it off.
The employee said that the Shell station had to evacuate due to the threat.
This is a developing story.
