Police: Milpitas robbery suspect was behind hotel standoff
San Jose man arrested early Tuesday after 34-hour stalemate in South San Jose
SAN JOSE >> A man wanted in an armed home robbery in Milpitas earlier this month was behind the 34-hour police standoff at a South San Jose hotel that lasted from Sunday until Tuesday, authorities said.
Edward Ruiz III, 35, of San Jose was arrested around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday after the lengthy stalemate with San Jose police and the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office at the Wyndham Garden San Jose Silicon Valley.
According to Milpitas police, on Jan. 13 Ruiz was suspected of arming himself with a shotgun and robbing and assaulting an acquaintance at a home in the 1000 block of North Abbott Avenue. During the holdup, which reportedly involved an unnamed accomplice, Ruiz held the victim, a 51-year-old man, against his will while stealing property, and fled before officers arrived, police said.
Milpitas detectives obtained a felony arrest warrant for Ruiz for robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, battery and false imprisonment. Working with the Regional Auto Theft Task force, investigators tracked Ruiz to the Wyndham hotel around 2:25 p.m. Sunday.
Because of the jurisdiction, San Jose police dispatched its MERGE unit — the city’s SWAT equivalent — to contact and arrest Ruiz at a second-floor room of the hotel, located at 399 Silicon Valley Boulevard. But police said Ruiz refused to exit the room and barricaded himself inside with at least one other person; the companion has not been publicly identified.
After 34 hours of calm, steady contact with police negotiators standing outside the room, Ruiz was taken into custody early Tuesday.
Anyone with information about Ruiz and his alleged crimes can contact Milpitas police at 408-586-2400 or leave an anonymous tip at 408-586-2500 or online at www.ci.milpitas.ca.gov/ crimetip.