Santa Ana Standoff Ends With Arrest

After a 4 1/2-hour standoff with SWAT officers, a Santa Ana man facing charges of assaulting a police officer and spousal abuse surrendered peacefully to authorities Sunday evening.

Carlos Alberto Nuno, 22, walked out of his apartment wearing shoes, pants and a baseball cap after police spent the afternoon negotiating his surrender.

The standoff began after officers knocked on Nuno’s door about 1:15 p.m. Police had received an anonymous tip alleging a domestic disturbance at Nuno’s apartment in the 1500 block of Sycamore Street, Sgt. Baltazar De La Riva said.

Nuno refused to open his door, cursing at officers and ordering them to leave, De La Riva said.

When police had responded to a similar report of domestic abuse a year earlier, Nuno allegedly struck an officer with a lamp and fled, De La Riva said. Authorities had an arrest warrant for Nuno alleging assault with a deadly weapon on an officer, resisting arrest and spousal abuse, he said.

Because of Nuno’s history, and because he refused to come out, police evacuated the building and called in the department’s SWAT team.

Nuno finally surrendered about 5:40 p.m.

Antoinette Ruiz, 28, who lives with Nuno, their 10-month-old daughter, Felicia, and Ruiz’s two other children, said Nuno did not strike her Sunday. Neither she nor her children were home during the standoff.

“Maybe he was yelling loudly or just rapping to a song on the radio or something,” she said.

“This whole thing could have been avoided if he had only just opened the door and told them I wasn’t home,” Ruiz said.