Standoff suspect faces assault with a deadly weapon charge

Sheriff's Special Enforcement Bureau deputies attend a debrief after successfully ending a hostage situation in Canyon Country early Sunday morning. (Austin Dave/The Signal)
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A 47-year-old local man accused of threatening his family with a shotgun is expected to appear in court Tuesday on a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon, a firearm.

Marc Spitzer, of the Santa Clarita Valley, was arrested shortly after 6:45 a.m. Sunday on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, namely a firearm.

Spitzer remains in custody at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station on Magic Mountain Parkway.

He is scheduled to appear in San Fernando Superior Court Tuesday morning.

His bail has been set at $150,000, according to arrest papers maintained by the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s Inmate Information Center.

“No shots were fired and no one was hurt,” Lt. Ignacio Somoano told The Signal Monday.

Deputies arrested Spitzer after he emerged from house on Poppy Meadow in Canyon Country following a five-hour standoff with deputies.

They had responded to a domestic dispute early in the morning on Sunday after a man allegedly threatened his family with a shotgun, according to officials with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.

The incident was reported at 1:05 a.m. when the suspect’s wife and sister in law became so afraid that they left the location and called the sheriff’s department.

“The informant on the call stated that during an argument, the suspect had produced a firearm and threatened the family members,” Sgt. Brian Hudson told The Signal Sunday.

Hudson said they were so scared that they left their family members at the residence—a 10-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy.

The informant, the wife of the suspect, said that her husband had told her to leave at the point of a shotgun.

When law enforcement arrived on scene, they had reason to believe that the suspect, a 47-year-old, was still in the home.

“He did not respond to any phone calls (made to) the residence or his cell phone,” Hudson said.

“We did PA announcements, calling him to come out of the location. He did not respond to those, so we notified our crisis negotiation team and our special bureau, which is our SWAT Team.”

The crisis negotiation team attempted several times to contact the suspect, but no response was given.

The suspect never made any demands or threats to law enforcement. He just didn’t acknowledge them.

“Eventually at 6:40 a.m. this morning, he came out of the residence on his own,” Hudson said.

The children were at the residence until that time. It is unknown if they were asleep or not.

Staff Writers Nikolas Samuels and Samie Gebers contributed to this report. 

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