After a 12-hour standoff, a SWAT team enters a San Jacinto home. They seek one more suspect.

By JOHN ASBURY
The Press-Enterprise

After a 12-hour standoff, authorities on Tuesday arrested a Soboba tribal member suspected of robbing a woman and taking refuge on the Soboba Indian Reservation.

Riverside County sheriff’s investigators tracked David Neil Morreo, 34, Monday afternoon to a home in San Jacinto, where he barricaded himself inside before a SWAT team invaded the home at 3 a.m. according to a sheriff’s report.

Sheriff’s officials said tribal officials cooperated fully with deputies during the investigation. The Sheriff’s Department and the tribe have been locked in a dispute about access for deputies in emergencies or investigations on the reservation. Sheriff Stanley Sniff has threatened to bring criminal charges against any members of the tribe who impede deputies in their duties.

Police said Morreo and Charles Durnin, 19, forced their way into a 23-year-old woman’s home Saturday morning in the 300 block of East Main Street in San Jacinto.

The two men demanded the woman’s valuables at gunpoint and threatened two other men who tried to take down the license plate as they were leaving the house, according to the sheriff’s report.

One man was seen with a “Soboba Rez” tattoo on his left forearm, and the other man was seen with a “Soboba” tattoo on his neck.

The other two men chased the suspects’ vehicle but turned around after the gunmen drove past a guard shack at the entrance to the reservation.

Later Saturday, detectives identified themselves to tribal security and were given access to the reservation to investigate.

Police were able to find Morreo on Monday at a home in the 11000 block of Sagebrush Avenue and a standoff with officers was under way, Sgt. Gil Cervantez said.

The sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau and Hostage Negotiation Team used a bullhorn and telephone to try to reach Morreo each hour before the team raided the home at 3 a.m. Tuesday and made the arrest without resistance, Cervantez said.

Police are still looking for Durnin, a second suspect in the robbery. Anyone with information is asked to call 951-487-7351 or 951-776-1099.

Reach John Asbury at 951-763-3451 or jasbury@PE.com
© 2008 Press-Enterprise Company

Posted on September 16th, 2008 by hunwut
Filed under: Law and Order, Reservations