Woman arrested after hotel standoff
Officers evacuate hotel floor as precaution during incident
– A Grover Beach woman was arrested Tuesday after barricading herself in a San Luis Obispo hotel room during a standoff with police.
The San Luis Obispo Police Department said officers responded at about 9 a.m. Sept. 9 to Hotel Cerro, 1125 Garden St., after staff reported that a guest refused to leave. The woman, identified as 40-year-old Patricia Castaneda, allegedly threatened hotel staff with a knife or gun.
When officers arrived, Castaneda had barricaded herself inside the room. The department’s Community Action Team responded, but she remained uncooperative. Police established a perimeter and evacuated all hotel rooms on that floor as a precaution.
The San Luis Obispo Regional SWAT team and Crisis Negotiation Team were called to the scene. Investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Castaneda on suspicion of felony criminal threats.
Negotiators persuaded Castaneda to exit the room, and at about 3 p.m. she was taken into custody without incident. Police said no weapons were found.
Castaneda was booked into the San Luis Obispo County Jail on suspicion of felony criminal threats under PC 422. Her bail was set at $50,000.
