Man Arrested After Standoff On Railroad Trestle

MARTINEZ, CA — A man throwing large rocks and debris from a Martinez railroad trestle onto passing cars was arrested Friday morning after a two-hour standoff with a SWAT team, Martinez police said. At about 10:20 a.m. Friday, police received reports of a man running in and out of traffic and trying to hit cars with a boulder on Muir Station Road.

When officers arrived, the man — later identified as 30-year-old Martinez resident Christopher Busby — had climbed up to the train trestle above the roadway and was throwing rocks and loose railroad spikes onto vehicles passing below, police said.

At least one car was seriously damaged before police shut down the street. No one in the vehicle was injured.

Busby then walked west on the tracks — prompting a brief halt to railroad traffic — and allegedly started throwing rocks at nearby houses.

Police said crisis negotiators and tactical team members from Central County SWAT arrived and finally talked the man down after two and a half hours.

Busby was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility for multiple counts of assault with a deadly weapon, felony vandalism and obstructing an officer. Bail was set at $225,000. Police say Busby had also been involved in a hit-and-run crash earlier in the day in Martinez.

By Bay City News Service

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