Swat Team Arrests Home Invasion Suspect After Standoff

Police have arrested a home invasion robbery suspect who prompted a SWAT team response when he holed himself up inside an East Oakland home Wednesday.

Officers were dispatched to a home in the 2700 block of Ritchie Street shortly before 8:30 a.m. after police received word that 26-year-old Arlando Wesseling, who was wanted on a felony warrant, had shown up there, police said.

Police spokeswoman Johnna Watson said there were other people in the home when Wesseling arrived, including two young children, but that those people were able to exit safely.

Wesseling was considered possibly armed and dangerous, and a SWAT team was called in shortly after 10 a.m. Nearby homes were evacuated.

Police tried to make contact with Wesseling via phone and loudspeaker, but did not get a response, Watson said. They then fired a small amount of tear gas into the home but no one came out.

Finally, the SWAT team entered the home shortly before 1:30 p.m. and took Wesseling into custody without incident, Watson said. No injuries were reported.

Watson did not disclose details today about the home invasion robbery that prompted police to obtain the warrant for his arrest.

This is the second time in two weeks police were dispatched to the same home on Ritchie Street in an attempt to apprehend Wesseling, Watson said.

On the morning of May 17, officers responded to a report of a domestic dispute at the home and learned that one of the people involved -- Wesseling -- was wanted on a warrant.

Police shut down the area and evacuated several people from the home, but did not find Wesseling that day.

During today's standoff, Catrina Freeman, who identified herself as Wesseling's ex-girlfriend, told reporters gathered near the home that Wesseling is the father of her two young children, 6-month-old Trunks Wesseling and 20-month-old Catrina Wesseling.

She said the home where the standoff happened is Arlando Wesseling's grandmother's home, and that the grandmother was home with the two young children when he arrived today.

Freeman said the grandmother and her children were able to get out of the home, and waited in the safety of a van nearby. She said she and her sister Cinthia Freeman weren't there when Wesseling arrived, but came to the home when they heard he had shown up.

She said that in the May 17 incident, she had called police after Wesseling showed up and assaulted her.