Police standoff ends peacefully in Atwater

A 90-minute standoff with police ended Thursday in Atwater with a 24-year-old man behind bars after police said he poured gasoline on his house and threatened to torch his home and the homes of other family members, the Police Department reported.

Officers were called around 2 p.m. to a home in the 700 block of East Clinton Avenue. The man, whose name is being withheld due to suspected mental health issues, barricaded himself in the house and refused to come out, Lt. Samuel Joseph told the Sun-Star.

Family members told police the man suffered from anger issues and had refused to take medication, police said.

“Officers found out that he has done the same thing in the past in which he actually did light the gasoline that was poured on the house,” Joseph said.

Numerous police officers stood outside the home while Detective Anthony Cardoza negotiated with the man for nearly two hours before officers entered the house. The standoff ended peacefully.

Joseph said without the efforts of Cardoza and the other officers, the situation could have turned violent.

The man was taken into custody on suspicion of making criminal threats. Mental health officials were called in to evaluate the case.

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 7:12 PM with the headline "Police standoff ends peacefully in Atwater."