Man climbs atop historic Oakdale clock building, three-hour standoff ensues

Law enforcement spent three hours talking a belligerent man off the ledge of the iconic clock tower building at the center of Oakdale early Saturday morning as he ripped pieces off the historic facade and threw them on the ground below.

The 1909 building at the northwest corner of Yosemite Avenue and F Street houses Oak Valley Community Bank.

At about 12:30 a.m., firefighters were called to assist law enforcement at the scene, according to Battalion Chief Rick Bussell of the Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District. A ladder truck was needed to reach the man, who was on the edge of the two-story building.

When firefighters arrived, Oakdale Police were on scene, as well as a Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department negotiator, who was communicating with the man, identified as 22-year-old Anthony Lucero, of Oakdale.

"Officers on scene requested he climb down from the roof on the fire escape ladder he had used to gain access to the roof," reads a press release from the Oakdale Police Department. "Lucero refused and became belligerent."

During this time the man was dislodging concrete blocks from the roof line and throwing them on the ground below. He also threw buckets containing roofing material and moved the hands on the clock, Bussell said.

An officer was hit in the leg by some of the debris but was not seriously injured, according to Oakdale Police.

Bussell said the area was evacuated and traffic was detoured around the intersection.

After about three hours, the man agreed to surrender and the ladder from the fire truck was raised to him so he could climb down.

Lucero was arrested on suspicion of vandalism, trespass, assault on a police officer and violation of probation.

This story was originally published December 9, 2017 at 11:55 AM with the headline "Man climbs atop historic Oakdale clock building, three-hour standoff ensues."