SWAT STAND-OFF ENDS IN ARREST IN EL CAJON

By Miriam Raftery

Photos by EJ Helzer

June 6, 2011 (El Cajon) – David Douglas Wittmer, 31, surrendered to an El Cajon Police Department SWAT team last night at 997 Avocado. Police received a 911 call at 4:05 p.m. from a caller who said Wittmer owned a gun and had threatened to kill him, according to LieutenantTim Herndon.

ECM news partner 10 News reports the caller was Wittmer's father.

Officers made contact with Wittmer from outside the residence. Wittmer refused to come outside. “Because police believed that Wittmer was armed, and probable cause existed for his arrest, the SWAT and Crisis Negotiations teams were called to assist,” said Herndon.

After SWAT officers surrounded the house, Wittmer told a negotiator that he wanted to surrender. He exited the house at 7:49 p.m., three and a half hours after the 911 call was made, and was taken into custody.

When officers entered the residence a gun was found, along with an active marijuana grow. There were 27 mature plants found in one room, as well as additional plants in a second room. Other evidence of marijuana sales was located within the residence.

Wittmer was later booked into county jail for criminal threats, cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana for sales.