A man was arrested in Glendale following a barricade situation at his parents’ home.
Glendale police saw a man acting erratically near 51st and Maryland avenues the evening of Aug. 26, and the man was almost struck by a vehicle, according to spokesperson Sgt. Justin Ramsay. Police tried to approach the man, who fled on foot.
The man, identified as 36-year-old David Melendez, ran to a home and jumped over a fence then pounded on the door yelling to be let in, Ramsay said. The residents inside, identified as Melendez’s parents, opened the door and let him in.
When jumping over the fence, Melendez dropped a backpack that was found to contain drugs, Ramsay said. Melendez had five outstanding felony warrants related to probation violations, Ramsay said.
Police used the public address systems on their vehicles to demand Melendez leave the house. He came out but stayed behind his parents, Ramsay said. Police fired one pepper ball at him and hit him, but he went back inside the home.
A small SWAT team sent drones through the windows of the home, but they could not locate Melendez, Ramsay said. His parents allowed police to enter the home, where they found him wedged in a small closet behind a water heater.
Melendez was arrested and accused of obstruction of justice, drug possession and his outstanding felony warrants, court records showed.
Corina Vanek covers development for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at cvanek@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X @CorinaVanek.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Drugs, felony warrants and a Glendale standoff. Then police found him
