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Crime & Safety

Man Suspected of Sexual Assault Arrested in Hollywood Hills Mansion Standoff

LAPD SWAT officers use tear gas to enter a home on Rugby Place, taking into a custody a man suspected of holding a woman against her will for several days.

An LAPD SWAT team surrounded a Hollywood Hills mansion Sunday night and fired tear gas into the home before storming it and arresting a man accused of raping and kidnapping a woman.

On Monday, officials had yet to announce the identity of the man and the possible charges against him.

At approximately 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, LAPD's Hollywood Division responded to the scene of a domestic violence call in the 8200 block of Rugby Place.

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The man had allegedly held a female victim against her will for several days inside the residence. The woman was possibly identified as his girlfriend, and she reportedly suffered many acts of violence there, including being raped and beaten, until she was able to escape the house.

Patch responded to the scene and gathered details about the operation by listening to the police scanner.

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The woman told the LAPD that the man kept an AK-47 assault rifle in his bedroom, and the woman said the gun was loaded with a magazine of ammunition.

Because the man did not cooperate with the Hollywood patrol units on their initial response to his house in the afternoon, and due to the extreme nature of the alleged crimes and the presence of a deadly weapon, it became a barricade situation and Metro Division SWAT was called to the scene.

Neighbor Nate Schiccatano and his visiting cousin, Rich Schiccatano, witnessed the police activity early on. Although their house was about a half-mile away from the Rugby Place residence, the two said they could see most of the police activity using binoculars.

"It was around 4:30 p.m. when the police started arriving, and the helicopter has been in the air for hours," Schiccatano said.

SWAT officers placed a couple of snipers in strategic locations around the suspect's home and attempted to communicate with the man before resorting to tear gas.

After getting proper warrants and a "fire plan" from the LAFD chief at the scene, SWAT was given the go-ahead to "mask up" (put on face mask respirators) and fire tear gas into the residence. A little after 10 p.m., several dozen loud gunshot-type noises could be heard echoing through the canyon.

The SWAT team, surrounding the entirety of the large, expensive home, began a barrage of bean bags and tear gas canisters that lasted about 10 minutes. The police shooters first blasted holes in windows with the bean bag ammunition, then shot tear gas canisters through the holes broken in by the bean bags. While the barrage was happening, Hollywood Division LAPD received numerous calls about neighbors hearing gunfire—all related to this incident.

Near 11 p.m., a radio call came from LAFD Operation Command Dispatch, instructing its fire and rescue units on the scene that the "suspect is in custody."

"Basically we entered the premises and finally found him in his living room," said SWAT Officer Charles Joh. "He acted as if he didn't know what was going on, like, 'Hey, what are you guys doing here?' He was calm, he was compliant ... It ended rather peacefully."

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