Clearlake >> A Clearlake man is in custody after a hostage incident that included multiple adults and children on Monday afternoon.
Officers quickly established a perimeter around the residence in the 3600 block of Olive Street and evacuated nearby homes after they received a report shortly before 2 p.m. about a man with a firearm inside the house, Clearlake Police Sgt. Rodd Joseph said in a press statement. The caller managed to escape, but told officers the suspect had other people held hostage inside.
At one point the alleged culprit, 37-year-old Otis Woodford stepped out of the home into the driveway. According to information from the Clearlake Police Department, he refused to follow officers’ instructions to show his hands. Woodford instead ran back into the home out of police view before stepping back out about a minute later and complying with police orders, Joseph stated.
The home was evacuated and all of the hostage were found to be unharmed.
During a search of the home, officers found a loaded .45-caliber handgun reported stolen out of the city of Lompoc.
Woodford, who is on felony searchable probation for narcotics violations, was charged with felon in possession of a firearm, a felon in possession of ammunition, possession of a stolen firearm and obstruction and later booked into the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility. The case will be referred to the Lake County District Attorney’s Office for filing.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Sgt. Tim Hobbs. He can be reached at 994-8251 ext. 312.
