Fugitive in custody a4ter stando44

La Semana was on the scene as the standoff was in progress, and spoke with TPD Captain Richard Meulenberg, who explained how TPD got involved.

“[Ruvalcaba] is wanted with the Department of Corrections,” Captain Meulenberg said. “He’s wanted for a DUI drug charge and for bail jumping. So today what he did was he cut off his ankle monitor that they were tracking him with, and they considered that an escape. So the Department of Corrections, Probation and Parole called us and said, ‘Hey, we're tracking this person. We tracked him from Broken Arrow. We tracked him to this hotel here in Tulsa.’ So they asked for our assistance to come out here and try to get him into custody.”

Over the course of approximately two hours, o(cers attempted to convince Ruvalcaba, but were unsuccessful. Not knowing whether or not the suspect was armed or if others might be in danger, police had to act to resolve the standoff.

Police deployed tear gas into the motel room, forcing Ruvalcaba to come outside. When he still refused to comply with orders, police used pepper balls – another non-lethal tactic – to get him to cooperate. The o(cers in closest proximity to Ruvalcaba were wearing gas masks so as not to be overcome by the tear gas or pepper balls, but the effect was noticeable to all those in the area who were not wearing protective gear.

Ruvalcaba was booked into the David L. Moss Correctional Center at 3:05 pm on Monday, and is being held without bond for the Department of Corrections.

In addition to the charges of which he was originally convicted, Ruvalcaba now faces new criminal sanctions for his actions at the standoff, including destroying evidence. He is also likely to be charged with escape for having removed his ankle monitor. (La Semana)