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Shirtless Suspect in Standoff Was On Chimney For Hours [UPDATED]
It's the ultimate standoff, since this particular suspect has opted to remain, literally, standing for hours. His perch of choice: a chimney on an East L.A. rooftop.
The incident began to unfold at around 7 Friday morning, when a bail bondsman showed up to haul in the unidentified male who is reportedly a robbery suspect.
The suspect fled, and climbed onto the steep roof of the home on Grace Place, and has stubbornly refused to come down.
The standoff was the focus of much of the KTLA-5 Morning News broadcast until they signed off at 9 a.m., with FOX-11 picking up the interest at 10. By the 11 a.m. news hour on ABC7, the shirtless man has remained in place, seemingly tired and most likely quite cold and soaked due to the steady rainfall.
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Deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department have long surrounded the single-story house, and placed a ladder against the roof, reports City News Service, but no word on how the man is expected to get down either voluntarily or not.
UPDATE 11:38 AM: ...and he's down!
CBS2 identifies the man as 37-year-old Michael Vargas, who "has a bench warrant out for burglary and grand theft. He is also on probation for possessing a firearm." They've tweeted that he has finally come down, via the ladder:
#UPDATE: Shirtless thief, who was on #EastLA roof avoiding bail bondsman, comes down after almost 5-hour standoff. http://t.co/T64HLnHe
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) January 25, 2013
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