From Yuma County Sheriff’s Office Facebook
On May 21, W-Y Communications Center received a 911 emergency call from an individual numerous times. The caller was located at a dead-end road residence on County Road 38 approximately where CC.5 would have been.
Undersheriff Larry Gilliland tried numerous times to contact the party but he didn’t get a response to his phone calls. Undersheriff Gilliland responded to the address. Upon arrive there he parked in the driveway, activated his emergency lights and shined his flashlight at the house. He heard a loud noise that he couldn’t positively identify, but he thought it was gunshots.
The undersheriff called Sheriff Todd Combs, who responded to the scene. Sheriff Combs and Undersheriff Gilliland approached the house using night vision and a thermal device to reconnoiter the house. Sheriff Combs had the undersheriff pull a vehicle up behind cover and activate the emergency lights.
Sheriff Combs then heard two muffled gunshots from inside the house. Sheriff Combs backed out of the yard, and him and Undersheriff Gilliland again tried to call the individual. Sheriff Combs decided to call out the SPEAR Team and while the members were responding, the individual answered one of the many phone calls.
The one hour and 45-minute call was disjointed and confusing at times. It was determined that the individual was afraid that someone was coming to get him and he was shooting at them. After the SPEAR Team was deployed, the individual was talked into coming out peacefully, and he surrendered to the Combs and Gilliland with no injuries to anyone involved.
He was then transported to the hospital where he was admitted for observation. He faces various charges for his actions.
If anyone in the residences around County Road 37 and County Road CC.5 has found any bullet holes in their property, please the let the Sheriff’s Office know.
The Sheriff added this to the end of the report: “If there is a police car in your driveway with its lights on in the dead of night, parked a short distance away, please don’t start shooting. This is our procedure when we respond to these kinds of calls, due to multiple previous incidents where we were confronted with firearms. Our goal is simply to ensure everything is all right. If you’re uncertain about what’s going on, please contact 911 — they can clarify the situation for you. We don’t want to get shot and we don’t want to shoot anyone either. If someone is trying to call you, please answer. We often have kids accidentally dial 911 and then hang up. No one is in trouble for the call — just call back or answer when the dispatcher tries to reach you.”