Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies detained a burglary suspect Saturday morning while another was believed to be barricaded in a local salon.
Deputies, aided by a Special Enforcement Bureau team, firefighters and a K-9 unit, were unable to find another suspect in Octagon Plaza in the 23300 block of Cinema Drive, according to Sgt. G. Martinez.
“(Deputies) began to clear the business and encountered one subject — male adult — and were able to take him into custody after speaking with him,” said Capt. Justin Diez, who was at a command post set up at a church on Cinema Drive. “He was naked and appeared to have some sort of mental illness.”
The burglary suspect was found inside Novilo Salon & Spa.
Officials said the 31-year-old man had attempted to use a metal pole with a jabbing motion in an attempt to deflect deputies, said Deputy Natalie Arriaga, a spokeswoman for the SCV Sheriff’s Station.
“As the male attempted to flee the business via access of the ceiling, deputies were able to detain him without further incident,” said Arriaga.
At first, it was believed there could have been multiple suspects within the building after a voice was reportedly heard coming from the ceiling of the salon. However, deputies have said that no other suspects were located and investigators believe none are outstanding as a result of the incident.
The salon owners Niloo Amanat and Nona Postchy were following the investigation from across the street on the patio in front of Mama’s Table, which overlooks Octagon Plaza. They looked on alongside a dentist and chiropractor, who are both tenants of the plaza.
Amanat was on the phone with a representative from the alarm company just before 8 a.m. when she received a call from one of her employees who had arrived at the salon.
“The reception desk that is attached to the ground was completely flipped over in front of the door,” Amanat said of the scene described to her by her employee. “It was a huge mess. Every cabinet was broken.”
Amanat was told by the alarm company that the alarm was triggered at 5:40 a.m. by someone in the salon.
“Deputies arrived and did not locate any sign of forced entry and everything appeared to be secured,” Diez said of deputies’ initial response.
Sheriff’s officials received a call from Amanat at 7:44 a.m. after she heard her employee’s account at the salon. When Amanat arrived at the salon, she went to the back of the salon where she saw through the window a large opening in the ceiling above the shampoo bowl.
Amanat recalled deputies telling her, “If they’re in, they’re still in.”
“I thank God every minute that we didn’t open that door,” Amanat said. “If the front desk was not in front of the window, I would have gone in and God knows what would have happened.”
Deputies completed their search of the single-story building as of 1 p.m. Saturday.
Sheriff’s deputies asked that people avoid the area in a tweet sent Saturday morning during the search. “There is currently an ongoing investigation taking place on the 23300 block of Cinema Drive in Valencia,” the SCV Sheriff’s Station tweeted.
The man was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, burglary and vandalism. He was transported to the SCV Sheriff’s Station.
— Caleb Lunetta contributed to this report.
