Merced man arrested at gunpoint after assaulting woman, police say

A 40-year-old Merced man was arrested over the weekend after allegedly bursting through a motel door with a gun, assaulting his girlfriend and threatening the man she was with inside the room, the Atwater Police Department said.

Jason C. Criswell, who also had at least four outstanding warrants for his arrest, was arrested Saturday after the incident involving his 28-year-old girlfriend and the 30-year-old man she was with at the Valley Motel, 1631 Sycamore Ave. in Atwater, according to police Lt. Samuel Joseph.

“The officers did a really good job taking a very dangerous person off the streets who should absolutely not have any type of firearm,” Joseph said. “We believe they prevented a bad situation from getting much worse.”

Criswell allegedly kicked in the motel-room door around 4:30 a.m. Saturday, slapped the woman, knocked her to the ground and threatened both people with a firearm. He ran away before officers arrived at the scene, police said.

Criswell apparently returned to the motel around 6 a.m. and was stopped by police in the parking lot. Criswell, a convicted felon prohibited from possessing a firearm, had a loaded handgun under the driver’s seat of his Honda, which he later admitted was his, Joseph said.

Police said Criswell resisted arrest briefly and was taken into custody at gunpoint.

There were no reports of any serious injuries.

Criswell was booked into the Merced County Jail on nearly two dozen criminal charges, including assault with a firearm, tampering with the serial number of a firearm, being a convicted felon and convicted drug addict in possession of a firearm and damaging private property, all felonies, as well as a misdemeanor count of battery on a peace officer, according to booking records.

He was still in custody Sunday with bail set at $265,000.

This story was originally published February 8, 2015 at 11:30 AM with the headline "Merced man arrested at gunpoint after assaulting woman, police say."