SWAT standoff ends after 48 hours, man taken into custody, police say

SAN ANTONIO – UPDATE: A standoff has ended on the Southeast Side after 48 hours, but it’s the unexpected way that it ended that has left many nearby residents on edge.

Baldemar Martinez, 28, has been taken into police custody.

San Antonio police say they were initially called to a home on Diamondback Trail near Crossroads Ranch on Tuesday for a mental health call after a man reportedly had been seen throwing bottles and shooting at his dog. According to police, Martinez barricaded himself inside his mobile home, and was considered armed and dangerous.

After two days of calling out to Martinez, the SWAT team abruptly cleared the scene and left, telling neighbors it was a tactical retreat.

But people who live in the area say they had been threatened by the suspect, and they were not happy.

A preliminary police report says shortly after they left, officers arrested Martinez during a traffic stop. Officers had kept an eye on the house and when he left the home he was picked up by someone driving an SUV. They made the arrest without incident.

Martinez was booked on three felony warrants, including a probation violation, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and deadly conduct.

His bond is set at $45,000.

(Original Story)

A massive police presence ended abruptly and it left neighbors on edge. People who did not want to be identified but live on Diamondback Trail near Southcross Ranch were in disbelief as SWAT pulled out the street.

Officers had been attempting to get a barricaded suspect out of his home since Wednesday. The call was initially called as mental health call.

Police had been trying to coax the suspect out, talking to him over a megaphone to no avail.

Hear what neighbors had to say in the Nightbeat story in the player below.

A standoff apparently ending nearly 48 hours after it began. KSAT’s Patty Santos spoke with frustrated neighbors who said the SWAT team packed up and left the barricaded suspect inside.