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SANTA ANA, Calif. () — An attempted murder suspect was taken into custody early Sunday afternoon after barricading himself inside a Santa Ana motel room for several hours, police said.
Officers responded to a call of an assault with a deadly weapon early Sunday morning. The victim reported being beaten by the suspect, identified as 37-year-old Joseph Angel Palacios of Santa Ana.
Officers located the suspect at the Motel 6 located on 1501 North Harbor Boulevard at around 3:40 a.m. Sunday and attempted to make an arrest, according to the Santa Ana Police Department.
That is when Palacios barricaded himself inside the motel and refused to surrender.
It was not immediately known if the suspect was armed, but he threatened police, according to authorities.
More than eight hours after the incident started, Palacios surrendered and was taken into custody. He was booked at the Santa Ana Jail for attempted murder.
Palacios was wanted for attempted murder in connection to a homicide that occurred in January, police said.
Police initially said he was holding a woman hostage inside the room.
In an update, police told Eyewitness News that the woman was not being held hostage and that she was in the hotel willingly. Police also said that she was not in danger.
Authorities did not immediately clarify the relationship between the suspect and the woman. It was also unclear whether the woman barricaded inside was the same victim who previously reported being beaten by Palacios.
SWAT and crisis negotiators responded to the scene. Harbor Boulevard was closed between 17th Street and Washington Avenue.
As of 11:30 a.m., the suspect and the woman remained barricaded inside the hotel room as crisis negotiators continued to communicate with them.
About 30 minutes later, the woman stepped out of the hotel room and was taken into custody while the suspect remained barricaded inside.
Police said the suspect surrendered and was taken into custody after approximately eight hours of negotiations at around 12:20 p.m.
There is no threat to the community, police said.
Further information was not immediately available.
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