Standoff ends with arrest after Visalia SWAT uses gas on suspect

Police responded to reports of a man with a gun refusing to leave a residence in the 2600 block of South Bollinger Street and Cherry Avenue. 

The incident began around 10 a.m. Tuesday and ended at around 1 p.m. after SWAT used gas to force the man outside. He was inside the home alone, police said.  

Conrad Madrid, 51, was taken to Kaweah Health Medical Center by ambulance for precaution. Police say he wasn't injured. 

The incident officially began around 4 a.m. Monday when officers were sent to the man's home on Bollinger, Sgt. Mike Short said. Madrid had been involved in an altercation that "endangered the safety of a child."

Police were unable to arrest Madrid at the time, but Violent Crimes Unit detectives took over. 

Fearing Madrid may return to the scene and hurt people inside the home, detectives asked a judge for an arrest warrant. 

At 10 a.m. Tuesday, officers found him where the altercation started more than 24 hours before. Madrid ran and barricaded himself in a bedroom.

The Visalia Police Department, SWAT and Tulare County Sherriff’s Department responded to the scene as neighbors watched from chairs on their porches. The Visalia Fire Department was also on scene after the man threatened to burn down the home. 

Out of an abundance of caution, several nearby residents were evacuated. Nearby schools were notified but weren't locked down.

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One neighbor said police and probation officers have been out to the home multiple times, adding they hope the man gets help. Police said previous calls have included domestic violence and threats of harming others.

“It’s been exciting — four or five or six times out here for the same dude,” the neighbor said, asking his name not be used. “He needs help with probation out here; maybe this time, he will get it.”

Another neighbor, Jose Corria, said for two hours, he watched nervously from the front of a home on Bollinger.

He said he could hear the police yelling before a plume of smoke trailed from the home, and closed the garage shortly after to avoid inhaling the gas.

Short said police plan on asking prosecutors to file multiple felony charges including stalking and child endangerment. 

Lauren Jennings covers education and news for the Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register. Follow her on Twitter @lolojennings. Get alerts and keep up on all things Tulare County for as little as $1 a month. Subscribe today.