7-hour San Jose home invasion and hostage standoff ends with 3 suspects in custody

Five San Jose residents are recovering after a harrowing ordeal. A botched home-invasion led several suspects to hold them hostage.

Early Thursday morning, San Jose police officers arrested two-of-three suspects after an overnight stand-off.

“There are three suspects and they break into a home in the middle of the night. That’s got to be terrifying. You don’t expect that to happen, and all of a sudden you have to deal with that horrific situation,” said Sgt. Enrique Garcia, a spokesman for the San Jose Police Dept.

He said the crimes started after midnight. Three-men broke into a home in the 4200 block of Senter Road, in San Jose’s Hellyer neighborhood. One resident managed to make it outside and call police, who responded by sending the department’s Mobile Emergency Response and Equipment Group – or MERGE.

“The person was able to escape and give us information. Our officers responded to the scene and they arrived within minutes. One of the three suspects was taken into custody outside the residence,” said Garcia.

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The remaining two suspects, who were inside, refused to surrender. A six-and-a-half hour stand-off ensued, with the suspects holding four residents hostage. A police negotiator worked throughout the early morning hours, trying to convince the duo to surrender.

“It’s very dangerous. Which is why we took our time to try to negotiate with the suspects to exit the residence,” said Garcia.

Around 7am, and after confirming the suspects were unarmed, officers used flash-bang grenades and moved inside to make arrests.

The three suspects are being booked into the Santa Clara County jail on initial charges of burglary, assault, and false imprisonment. The five victims from the residence suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene. Police don’t know why the suspects chose that house, but say their investigation is in its early stages.

San Jose's MERGE units respond to home invasion and hostage situation in the 4200 block of Senter Road. June 18, 2020