— By F. Scott Faulkner
SANTA MARIA, CA — A 22-year-old Santa Maria man was arrested Monday following a standoff with law enforcement after being sought in connection with a felony assault.
At 10:45 p.m. on February 9th, Santa Maria Police officers responded to a reported family dispute at a South Depot Street neighborhood residence. According to SMPD spokesman Lt. Daniel Rios, upon arrival at the home, investigators determined that a man had allegedly committed “a felony assault against a family member,” attempted to assault multiple individuals with a knife, brandished a firearm, and “caused significant property damage” sufficient for the filing of a felony vandalism charge.
Pursuant to those on-site findings, SMPD officers conducted a search of the area but were unable to locate the suspect, now identified as Alexis Perez-Alcantar. At that point, detectives obtained a warrant for his arrest on multiple charges, including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, felony assault, and felony vandalism.
At approximately 1:30 p.m. the following day, February 10, 2025, officers learned that Perez-Alcantar was at the nearby residence of an acquaintance. Patrol units then “secured the location and evacuated the occupants” as SMPD deployed drones, crisis negotiators, a CHP helicopter, and K9 units from both SMPD and the California Highway Patrol.
After more than two hours of negotiations, Perez-Alcantar exited the garage and surrendered without incident. He was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail on the outstanding warrant and the aforementioned multiple felony charges, with his bail set at $1 million.
