SAN DIEGO—A felon who allegedly wounded his roommate with a 10-inch knife at a Spring Valley motel, then threatened him and another person with a gun and held both captive for several hours, was behind bars Oct. 17 and facing a slate of criminal charges.
Roger Bell, 38, was taken into custody at the end of a five-hour law enforcement standoff prompted by his alleged violent and menacing behavior at the Crown Inn Suites, 9603 Campo Road, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
The events that led to Mr. Bell’s arrest began at about 11 a.m. Monday, when a man staying at the motel made a 911 call to report that he had been stabbed by a roommate, then held at gunpoint along with a friend for about two hours, sheriff’s Detective Guadalupe Catano said.
After the victims managed to escape from the room, paramedics took the wounded man to a hospital for treatment of a non-life-threatening hand injury.
Deputies, meanwhile, surrounded the motel, told other guests there to remain in their rooms for their safety and closed nearby traffic lanes as a precaution.
With Mr. Bell allegedly ignoring deputies’ repeated orders to come outside unarmed and give himself up, sheriff’s officials arranged for the Chula Vista Police Department to send in its SWAT team.
Mr. Bell remained holed up in the motel until shortly after 4 p.m., when he finally emerged from his rented room and surrendered without further incident.
While searching the room, deputies found three handguns and “numerous parts and tools to build AR-15 rifles,” Mr. Catano said.
Mr. Bell was booked into San Diego Central Jail on various charges, including assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment with violence, issuing criminal threats, and being a felon in possession of firearms, ammunition, and an unserialized ghost gun.
He was being held without bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
