A Susanville man who is suspected of tying a woman up and holding her for hours at gunpoint in a residence on Center Road is now in custody after a daylong manhunt involving the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office, the California Highway Patrol and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
At around 9:30a.m., Saturday, deputies from the LCSO were called to a residence near Belfast Road, east of the California Correctional Center, for a reported robbery in progress.
According to a call received by the Sheriff’s Dispatch Center, a suspect had stolen a vehicle and gunshots were being fired.
“Moments later,” explains LCSO Captain Mike Carney, “a second 911 caller reported a vehicle had rammed through a metal gate on Center Road, approximately two miles from the original robbery call.”
The driver and vehicle matched the description called in by the witness, who also managed to relay a good license plate number to dispatchers.
Deputies arrived at the residence and contacted a woman who reported that she had stepped outside in the early morning hours and noticed a man she did not recognize crouching down near her back door.
“The man grabbed her by the shoulder, pointed a firearm at her and forced her back into the house.”
The victim said he tied her hands and legs together behind her back, ransacked the residence then loaded stolen items into her vehicle over the course of several hours.
“Eventually, two of the victim’s family members arrived and immediately noticed something was wrong.”
“After a family member went inside, the suspect immediately ran out, started to drive away in the victim’s vehicle, but then suddenly stopped and walked back toward the family member. That’s when the family member fired two shots but did not hit the suspect.”
The suspect drove several miles east on Center Road, then rammed his vehicle through a metal gate where he parked and fled on foot.
“When deputies arrived they searched and cleared the vehicle and several outbuildings in an attempt to locate the suspect, but they did not immediately find him. Air support was requested from the California Highway Patrol who provided both a fixed wing aircraft and helicopter.”
Deputies made an exhaustive search of the surrounding, rugged terrain until nightfall when the search area was narrowed to a creek bed north of the abandoned vehicle.
“At about 11:20p.m., deputies using handheld thermal imagers located movement in the creek bed area. The suspect attempted to run away but was met by deputies from every direction and was taken into custody without further incident.”
The suspect, identified by the Sheriff’s Office as 34-year-old Susanville resident Angelo Atencio, was transported to the Lassen County Jail where he was booked on a variety of charges which include Robbery of an inhabited dwelling, Kidnapping, False Imprisonment, Felon in possession of a firearm, Vehicle Theft and Parole Violation.
Captain Carney also gave special acknowledgement to the Sheriff’s Office Dispatcher who played a vital part in managing a dangerous, constantly evolving situation.
“Our solo dispatcher was able to untangle a confusing array of emergency calls, obtain vital facts and information and relay them appropriately to responding deputies. The clear and concise directions from our dispatcher made for a safer response by our deputies to multiple crime scenes.”
