Transients arrested after hiding in vacant Paso Robles house
Denise Macarthur.
–On Friday at approximately 12:10 p.m., the Paso Robles Police Department received a report of a suspicious persons loitering around a vacant home in the 1000 block of Caddie Lane.
Upon arrival, officers learned that an alert neighbor saw two people hanging around a house that is for sale. These neighbors knew that the house was vacant and called the police to report this suspicious activity. The neighbor told the officers that the suspicious people had last been seen going into the backyard of the home and they had a dog with them.
Officers checked the house and found the door to the garage open with personal items scattered around the door. The officers could hear people running through the house to the second floor, where it sounded like they were barricading themselves inside one of the rooms. Officers also found that these people had abandoned their dog as they fled deeper inside the home.
Due to fact that the suspects fled and appeared to be fortifying their location, officers surrounded the home and took steps to ensure the safety of the neighborhood. The street was closed, neighbors were notified to shelter in place and additional resources were summoned to the scene. These resources included the California Highway Patrol helicopter H-70, the Paso Robles Department of Emergency Services, SLO Ambulance, SLO County Animal Services Division and a PRPD K9 unit. Officers made several announcements throughout this incident advising the suspects to surrender but received no response.
Thomas Andersen.
The owner of the house was contacted and cooperated with the PRPD. He confirmed that nobody had permission to be inside his residence. The suspects’ dog was rescued by officers before it fled into traffic in the surrounding area.
Once the scene was secure, officers searched the interior using the police K9 that indicated the suspects had fled to the attic of the home. Officers continued to give announcements to the suspects, advising them to surrender or chemical agents would be used to get them to leave the attic. The suspects did not respond. Officers then introduced chemical agents (‘pepper spray’/Oleoresin Capsicum) to the attic space that had the intended effect and the two suspects surrendered to officers without further incident at approximately 2:07 p.m.
The suspects were identified as Thomas Andersen and Denise Macarthur. Both are 31- year-old transients. Both were treated at the scene for exposure to the chemical agent. Neither Andersen nor Macarthur were injured during this event.
Andersen was booked into the SLO County Jail on the following charges: trespassing, possession of a controlled substance, resisting arrest, and a felony warrant.
Macarthur was booked into the SLO County Jail on the following charges: trespassing, resisting arrest, and a felony warrant.
No officers were injured during this event. Officers and personnel from the Department of Emergency Services worked together to ventilate the residual chemical agent material from the home. The suspects’ dog, a two-year-old pit bull mix named ‘Valkyrie,’ was turned over to the custody of SLO County Animal Services.
This is an ongoing investigation and anyone with information about this case is encouraged to call the Paso Robles Police Department at 805-237-6464. Persons wishing to remain anonymous are encouraged to call Crime Stoppers’ 24-hour hotline at 549- STOP or by texting “SLOTIPS” plus your message” to CRIMES (274637).
