In-N-Out standoff: Burglary suspect in custody after hourslong barricade in SoCal

Sid Garcia Image
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Barricaded suspect inside Temple City In-N-Out taken into custody
A tiny K-9 officer named Deek was able to help deputies end an hourslong standoff with a burglary suspect at an In-N-Out restaurant in Temple City.

TEMPLE CITY, Calif. -- Thanks to the help of a tiny K-9, a burglary suspect is in custody following an hourslong barricade inside an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Temple City on Monday.

The standoff lasted nearly 12 hours, and only ended when Deke, a patterdale terrier who specializes in searching confined spaces, was brought in to locate the suspect.

The incident began around 2:40 a.m. when a call came in to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department about a burglary alarm at the restaurant in the 10600 block of Lower Azusa Road.

Deputies spotted a man inside the restaurant and were able to contact the manager who confirmed the man was not authorized to be there.

The suspect did not heed deputies' orders to come out of the building. That's when deputies evacuated the surrounding areas and called in the Special Enforcement Bureau team and negotiators.

The standoff lasted for nearly 12 hours, as deputies closed off businesses at a nearby strip mall.

Although deputies saw the suspect when they initially pulled up to the restaurant, they later had trouble locating him inside. At first they sent in two full-sized dogs to track him down, but they were unable to find him.

Then they sent in Deek.

The trained patterdale terrier specializes in searching confined spaces. It didn't take long for Deek to find the suspect hiding under the roof.

Once he was located, deputies were able to convince the man to surrender around 2:15 p.m. When he was arrested, deputies learned that he was not armed

The neighborhood is now deemed safe.

The suspect's identity was not immediately released.