Police Use Chemical Irritant To End 6-Hour Standoff In Petaluma

PETALUMA, CA — A Petaluma man was taken into custody following a more than six-hour standoff Sunday night at an apartment on Lakeville Circle, the Petaluma Police Department said.

It started around 6:10 p.m. Saturday when the Petaluma Police Department received multiple reports of a domestic disturbance in the 700 block of Lakeville Circle. The callers could hear a woman screaming and items being thrown.

Officers were familiar with the residents, having responded to the apartment twice in the last two weeks. The previous calls resulted in the arrest of Kenneth Massucco, 33, of Petaluma on suspicion of felony domestic violence-related charges including failing to let the female victim leave the residence, threatening to shoot officers, and resisting arrest.

The calls also prompted the Petaluma Police Department to seek an emergency protection order. The order was granted by a judge and prohibited Massucco from being at the apartment or having contact with the victim.

As officers got to the apartment Saturday, they heard what sounded like the door being nailed shut from inside the apartment. Massucco came to the front window, told the officers he was alone in the apartment, and refused to exit, police said.

Officers could hear the victim inside while Massucco moved items around in what appeared to be an attempt to further barricade the doors, according to police.

The decision was made early on to summon the Petaluma Police Department's Crisis Response Team, which is comprised of crisis negotiators and SWAT operators who have specialized equipment and training to handle critical incidents.

Additional police personnel secured a warrant for Massucco's arrest on suspicion of false imprisonment and violation of a domestic violence restraining order.

By this time, Massucco and the victim were in an upstairs bedroom and several attempts to negotiate with Massucco were unsuccessful. Police communication with the victim was limited and officers believed her responses were directed and coached by Massucco.

Fearing she was being held captive, officers forced entry through a back sliding glass door and found that Massucco had littered the stairs with a chair, pieces of wood, and other items to prevent them from coming upstairs.

As officers cleared the stairs, a noise-flash diversionary device was used outside to distract Massucco.

Inside, officers tried to negotiate face-to-face with Massucco and requested that he allow the victim to leave. When Massucco and the victim appeared in the doorway of an upstairs bedroom, it was evident she'd been assaulted e threw items at the officers and refused to surrender while physically preventing the victim from leaving, police said.

As Massucco came out of the bedroom, officers shot him with a 40-mm less-lethal sponge baton round. Officers also deployed the department’s K9 to apprehend Massucco but the K9 did not reach Massucco in time and he retreated back into the bedroom with the victim.

Officers outside of the apartment climbed a ladder and broke out an upstairs window to gain a visual into the bedroom. At this point, Massucco ran into another bedroom on the opposite side of the small landing and the victim was able to leave the bedroom and was brought down the stairs by officers. ;

Paramedics with the Petaluma Fire Department were waiting to treat the victim for injuries described by police as significant non-life-threatening.

It is alleged that Massucco continued to refuse to surrender and at one point broke out a window so he could yell at officers through the window.

When further attempts to negotiate his surrender stalled, officers placed a chemical irritant into the apartment and he surrendered within minutes. The standoff ended at 12:30 a.m. — six hours and 20 minutes after it began.

Massucco was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic battery, false imprisonment, violation of a court order, committing a felony while out on bail, and resisting arrest.

After he was treated at a local hospital for minor injuries suffered from the sponge round, Massucco was booked into Sonoma County jail and his bail was set at $250,000.

Massucco remained in custody early Tuesday with his bail now set at $750,000, jail records showed.