KMPH Fox 26 Central San Joaquin Valley News Source in Fresno, California Entertainment, News, Sports and Weather | Police Standoff at Fresno Hotel Ends

Police Standoff at Fresno Hotel Ends

By Norma Yuriar

Fresno, Calif.  (KMPH News) — A police standoff in southwest Fresno ends nearly two hours after it starts.  Fresno Police evacuated guests at the Town House Motor Hotel near Roeding Park.

Witnesses say a man was firing his gun, trying to kill snakes that weren't really there.

"Because of the information we had received we had to make a very cautious approach into the room," Fresno Police Capt.  Greg Garner said.

That information came from witnesses.

"The guy had fired his weapon, yeah he had a gun," Richard Alaniz said.  "He fired a couple of rounds...he was trying to kill an imaginary snake."

Friends say 64–year–old Michael Atkinson was on a new medication that made him hallucinate.

"He was in his room, claiming he saw a python," Alaniz said.

Rebecca Upshaw describes her friend as a diabetic with a bad leg.

"The officers told him to come out and show his hands, but he's not able to walk," she said.

Upshaw says Atkinson called 911 at about 2:00 p.m. because he needed medical attention.  But, when police got there — they say the Atkinson would not come out of his room.

"It appears that he was deceased of natural causes," Capt. Garner said.

Upshaw says officers waited too long to go in.

"I told them he was harmless, I told them he fell and passed out," Upshaw said.  "He needed help.  He couldn't come out – put his hands outside.  I begged them to let me go in!  He'd be alive still."

But, Capt. Garner says officers could not take that risk.

"We don't have to think too far back to the Minkler incident where officers went into a situation where the subject was armed."

Those officers were Reedley Police Officer Javier Bejar and Fresno County Sheriff's Deputy Joel Wahlenmaier.  On February 26^th they where shot and killed in Minkler during standoff with 51–year–old Rick Liles.  Once the shooting stopped, swat team members entered Liles trailer and found him face down in the bedroom with ten firearms.  Investigators believe he took his own life.

That shooting was five months ago, but Garner says it's still fresh in the minds of Fresno Police officers.  So, when they got word of a man holed up in his hotel room.  They say they took every precaution possible.

Capt. Garner says it took officers about an hour and a half before they felt it was safe to go inside.

"As I said, once we got in the room we did discover quite a few weapons including a long riffle with a scope," Garner said.  "Any other approach would have been tremendously hazardous not only to the police officers, but to the medical aid personnel that would have responded as well.  This was the only course of action we could have taken."

"I can understand that, but now my friend is dead," Upshaw said as she wiped away tears.

Investigators say they found three weapons inside the man's room, along with spent shell casings.  Gardner said we won't know Atkinson's exact cause of death until the Fresno County Coroner completes the autopsy.