Suspect with machete, explosive arrested in Boulder Creek

BOULDER CREEK — A man who refused to drop a machete when confronted by deputies, after reportedly breaking into a trailer in Boulder Creek, was arrested Tuesday.

Santa Cruz County spokeswoman Ashley Keehn said deputies received a report of a man walking into a tent trailer on the 100 block of Brook Lane  in Boulder Creek with what appeared to be a rifle around 11am.  

When deputies spoke with the owner of the tent-trailer, he told them that no one  should be inside the trailer at that time. Deputies then saw a man come out of the trailer, and they tried to speak with him. 

The man, identified as 32-year-old Emmanuel Altamirano, instead went back into the trailer and refused to come out, Keehn said. That triggered a standoff that lasted around seven hours.  

Altamirano has a prior felony conviction, and was prohibited from possessing firearms, Keehn said. 

The Sheriff’s SWAT and Crisis Negotiation teams were called to establish a dialogue with Altamirano. 

Around 6:30pm he came out of the trailer holding a machete. After deputies commanded Altamirano to drop the machete he refused. That’s when deputies fired several bean bag (less than lethal) rounds to get  him to drop the weapon so they could safely detain him. 

Additionally, Altamirano was in possession of what deputies suspected to be a type of explosive that went off when he was hit with a less than lethal round.  

Altamirano suffered minor injuries from the explosive. He was treated and released from the hospital. 

A BB gun was also recovered  at the scene. Altamirano is facing multiple charges including trespassing and resisting arrest.