Man charged in 6-hour standoff, denied release
A judge denied an attorney’s request Monday afternoon in Yuma Justice Court to release the 37-yearold man who was arrested last week after a six-hour standoff with police at a residence in Somerton.
In making the request, attorney Sarah Birkmeyer of the Yuma County Public Defender’s Office asked that Alfredo Ibarra be released on his own recognizance or given a third-party release to his wife.
If neither of those options were acceptable to the court, then Birkmeyer suggested Ibarra be released under the supervision of pretrial services.
Birkmeyer argued that Ibarra was not a flight risk due to having a wife and newborn child who reside in Yuma and that he was not a danger to the community because the charges against him are non-violent offenses.
Justice of the Peace Greg Stewart, however, declined the request, citing that Ibarra has prior misdemeanor and felony convictions and that he has previously been incarcerated. He added that Ibarra also allegedly made over 300 online charges on a company credit card belonging to the victim.
Stewart also declined a written request from the prosecution to increase Ibarra’s bond to $150,000 from the $50,000 amount he had set at a previous hearing. No prosecutor was present for the hearing.
Earlier in the hearing Stewart informed Ibarra that a criminal complaint had been filed against him, charging him with two felony offenses, with one being fraudulent schemes and artifices and the other being theft.
In addition to appointing an attorney to represent him, Stewart scheduled Ibarra’s next court date for Aug. 18 at 4 p.m. for a preliminary hearing.
According to Yuma police, detectives were scheduled to serve a search warrant on a residence in the 100 block of West Canal Street on August 9.
The warrant was in reference to a fraud-scheme case, and the detectives had probable cause to arrest Ibarra if he was located at the home.
Prior to detectives arriving at the location, Border Patrol agents were involved in an investigation into two individuals Ibarra was with at the time that led them to the residence.
When Border Patrol agents attempted to make contact with the group, Ibarra reportedly fled into the residence with the two other individuals.
After YPD was contacted and informed of the incident, the department’s Special Enforcement Team was activated at 12:08 p.m. to deal with a barricaded subject.
YPD said a perimeter was set up around the home and announcements were made for the occupants to come out.
At 2:18 p.m. two male subjects reportedly exited from the back of the residence and were detained. Both men were later taken into custody by the Border Patrol.
Police confirmed at that time Ibarra was still inside the home. Officers tried to coax him out. After no response, gas was deployed into the residence.
Officers then made entry into the home at 6:11 p.m. and Ibarra was taken into custody without incident. He was booked into the Yuma County jail.
Jerry Cabrera, assistant superintendent with the Somerton School District, confirmed to the Yuma Sun that Somerton Middle School was on lockdown for a time during the incident.
Other agencies that assisted YPD during the standoff were the Yuma Sector Border Patrol and the Somerton Police Department.
James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun. com or 539-6854. Find him on Facebook at www. Facebook.com/YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter @ YSJamesGilbert.