Man taken into custody after standoff in west Modesto

A man faces firearm and other charges following a standoff at his west Modesto home Monday, police said.

Alonzo Watkins, 19, was arrested about 2 1/2 hours after officers responded to a report of a shot fired inside the Yosemite Avenue house, spokeswoman Heather Graves of the Modesto Police Department said.

Officers believed that the man was alone in the house, but he did not respond to repeated attempts at contact via phone and loudspeaker, she said. The standoff started around 11 a.m. on the 400 block of Yosemite and prompted lockdowns at nearby Modesto High School and Marshall Elementary School.

Police deployed a SWAT team on the closed-off block and the alley behind it. Officers emerged with the man at about 1:30 p.m. and placed him in a patrol car, which remained at the scene after the block reopened to residents and the media. The man then was removed from the car for treatment of injuries he inflicted on himself in the backseat, according to police.

Watkins was taken by ambulance for treatment and will face charges of negligent discharge of a firearm, resisting arrest, violation of probation and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, Graves said. He had not been booked into Stanislaus County Jail as of late afternoon.

Neighbors told The Modesto Bee that they did not know the man, who had been in a house with a for-sale sign outside. They did say he appeared to be distraught.

“He obviously needs some help,” said Ann Burris, who lives a few houses down the block. “He obviously needs some prayers.”

Brittani Moreno, who lives on the block to the west, said the standoff rattled the neighborhood.

“When anybody lets loose like that, it’s definitely a scare, especially when it’s broad daylight and kids are about,” she said.

This story was originally published April 10, 2017 at 11:35 AM with the headline "Man taken into custody after standoff in west Modesto."