5-Hour Standoff Ends With Man’s Arrest

A 50-year-old man described by a neighbor as a troubled groundskeeper was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of firing a semiautomatic assault rifle into the air and then refusing to surrender to sheriff’s deputies during a five-hour standoff.

Members of a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team took Christopher “Kit” Colvig into custody about 10 a.m. at his residence in the 1500 block of Valley Drive in Calabasas.

Neighbors had called police to report gunfire about 5 a.m. After four hours of fruitless attempts to get Colvig to surrender, deputies called in the Special Weapons and Tactics team. About 45 minutes later, officers tossed in a “flash-bang” grenade--a small explosive device--to divert Colvig’s attention as they entered his property.

Colvig emerged from his residence with a screwdriver and fled into his front yard, where deputies wrestled him to the ground, said Sheriff’s Department spokesman William Martin. Colvig suffered a split upper lip during the scuffle, Martin said.

“He was partially clothed,” said Sheriff’s Lt. Mike Ford.

Sgt. Richard Dinsmoor said authorities do not know whether Colvig is suffering from mental illness.

Officers were called to the neighborhood last summer after complaints from neighbors, Sheriff’s Lt. Ray Baytos said. Neighbor Steve Ray said Colvig had run nude through the neighborhood, throwing rocks at cars.

“He definitely has a problem,” Ray said.

Neighbor Tony Dow, who played Wally Cleaver on the 1950s TV series “Leave It to Beaver,” said of Colvig: “Obviously he’s crying out for help.”

Tuesday’s standoff began when Colvig allegedly fired several shots from his home, described by authorities as a former tack house once used to store harness gear for horses.

“He was firing a bunch of rounds, about eight,” Ray said. “I know him. He wouldn’t hurt a flea.”

Ray said Colvig’s job was taking care of his landlord’s property, but deputies said he was unemployed.

Colvig was booked on suspicion of illegally discharging a firearm into the air, assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer and narcotics possession, Dinsmoor said.

He was taken to the County-USC Medical Center prison ward. Bail was set at $25,000.