Police stand off with kidnapping suspect

CLOVIS — A SWAT team response and evacuation/lockdown on properties near the Clovis Apartments on Wednesday ended with the arrest of a Clovis man accused of kidnapping.

Cesar Murillo, 38, was accused of holding a woman "against her will at gunpoint" in her apartment on the 1000 block of North Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, according to court records.

By Friday, however, court records showed the kidnapping charge was quashed as "additional investigation is needed in this matter."

Clovis police said the woman in the apartment "was also located, declining that anything had occurred."

Police said in a news release that officers were dispatched Wednesday morning to the apartments on reports that a woman there "had not been in contact with her toddler aged children since 10:30 p.m. (the night before)."

Officers ended up "utilizing the SWAT specialty vehicle and its public address system" to contact Murillo, while "residents in the complex near the apartment where Murillo was staying were evacuated," CPD Capt. Roman Romero wrote in the release.

Portions of Cesar Chavez Drive and Charlotte Streets were blocked while officers attempted to contact Murillo, with officials asking Wednesday morning that residents avoid the area.

Shortly before noon a search warrant on the location was executed, and Murillo "surrendered and was detained" within an hour, said the release.

The Arts Academy at Bella Vista, located less than 3/4 of a mile west of the apartments, was placed during that hour on a level one lockdown, in which "all exterior doors are locked and classes are conducted as normal." The lockdown was lifted by 1:41 p.m., according to school officials.

While the kidnapping charge is dropped, Murillo is still charged with resisting, evading or obstructing an officer in connection with Wednesday's incident, for which he is scheduled in court next month.