Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office press release:

On 03-28-2014, at approximately 10:19 a.m. the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office was called by a woman who reported that she believed her ex-husband was in her residence and may be armed. Deputies responded and met with the woman at her residence on Prindan Lane, Eureka. The woman told the deputies she was recently awarded the family home in a divorce settlement and the husband had been recently evicted from the home. The woman told deputies the locks had been changed when she took ownership of the home, and now someone had changed the locks again so her key no longer worked. She could no longer enter the residence and the blinds, which had been open when she was last in the residence, were closed. Deputies approached the residence and attempted to determine if anyone was in the home. Deputies used the key she provided to unlock the door and it did not work. Deputies walked around the exterior of the home trying to determine if someone was home, and also to look for signs of forced entry. While deputies were walking around the home, they heard the sound of an upstairs window closing, and sounds of a disturbance in the upstairs room. Deputies met again with the wife who told the deputies there were firearms in the home that her ex-husband would have access to.

Deputies attempted to make contact into the home using a loudspeaker, with no success. Deputies and detectives then attempted to locate family and friends of the ex-husband to determine if he was in the home, or if there was a cell phone number to contact him. Two citizens who lived on Montgomery Street which is near Prindan Lane, approached deputies at approximately 12:00 noon and told the deputies they saw a black truck park nearby and a man jump into the truck and duck down to avoid being seen by law enforcement. The citizens, however could not identify the man driving the truck or the man entering the truck. They could also not provide any further descriptive information on the truck. They told deputies this occurred about the time deputies initially showed up at the residence.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team was training in the area and was summoned to the location to stand by in case they were needed. The California Highway Patrol responded, along with Eureka Police to assist with closing the road in front of the residence.

At 1:30 p.m., the ex-husband called the Sheriff’s Office and said he was not in the home and would meet with deputies. The ex-husband met with deputies at 1:40 p.m. on Excelsior Road, Eureka. He denied entering the residence since being evicted. At the ex-wife’s request deputies forced entry into the home and made sure no one else was in the home. The ex-husband was transported back to the Prindan Lane residence at his request and allowed to remove some personal items with his ex-wife’s permission while deputies stood by. He then left the area and the residence was turned over to the ex-wife per the court order.

Anyone with information for the Sheriffs Office regarding this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Sheriffs Office at 707-445-7251 or the Sheriffs Office Crime Tip line at 707-268-2539.

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