Man arrested following New Year’s Day standoff in Buellton

BUELLTON, Calif. - A man who barricaded himself inside his Buellton home was arrested New Year's Day.

At around 12:45 a.m., Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Deputies responded to the home on the 500 block of Central Avenue after receiving a report of a man armed with a gun.

Deputies were informed that the man had fired a handgun into the air, assaulted his spouse and threatened other members of his family before barricading himself inside the home.

When deputies arrived, they order family members to leave the home and evacuated nearby residences.

After several attempts to contact the man on his cell phone, he eventually turned himself over to law enforcement.

He was identified as 24-year-old Gaston Tapia.

Law enforcement searched the residence and discovered a number of assault weapon parts and a high capacity magazine loaded with 9mm rounds.

They also found a 9mm handgun without a serial number or any identifiable markings; it is believed this was the handgun that Tapia fired into the air. A Santa Barbara County Sheriff's dog searched the residence to locate any spent rounds from the handgun, but was unable to locate anything.

Tapia was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail where he awaits felony charges for threatening crime with intent to terrorize and preventing or dissuading a witness. He will also likely be charged for the following misdemeanors: domestic violence, possession of a large capacity magazine, and discharging a firearm in a negligent manner.

His bail was set at $100,000.