Wanted man barricaded in Lubbock motel room shot, gassed out and taken into custody
LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - One person is in custody after Lubbock authorities responded to a barricaded subject Wednesday morning.
Felix Delarosa, 39, is charged with aggravated assault against a public servant following a SWAT standoff that lasted nearly two hours.
At 10 a.m., Texas Anti-Gang unit members located Delarosa at a Lubbock Days Inn, where he had locked himself inside a room.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said there was a warrant out for his arrest because he violated his parole by tampering with his electronic monitoring device.
According to the TDCJ, in 2017, Delarosa was sentenced to 20 years in prison for manufacturing and delivering a controlled substance.
Delarosa was released from prison and placed on parole in April 2022.
When members of the TAG Unit learned Delarosa was staying at the Days Inn near I-27 and Hwy 54, they tried to make contact with him.
KCBD Investigative Reporter Shaley Kidwell created a timeline of events:
@shaleykidwelltv SWAT Standoff ends when bomb squad robot sprays tear gas, pins suspect to the ground#news #kcbd #standoff #lubbock #SWAT ♬ original sound - Shaley
Officers said Delarosa went in his hotel room and locked the door. Officers said they heard him fire a shot from inside the room, so they called the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team to assist.
Authorities said Delarosa fired another shot while SWAT negotiators attempted contact him. Negotiators and deputies continued to call Delarosa, trying to convince him to surrender peacefully, when investigators say he more shots, with one pointed directly at officers. A member of the sheriff’s office sniper team then fired off a round, striking Delarosa.
Delarosa was seen hanging out of the shattered window of the room, talking on the phone. He also kept briefly stepping through the doorway, waving a Bible at law enforcement.
KCBD Photojournalist Craig Julio Iglesias was at the scene. Iglesias caught Delarosa’s apprehension on video.
Authorities used the Lubbock Regional Bomb Squad Robot to help take Delarosa into custody. When the robot arrived in front of the room, Delarosa took what appears to be a sheet and threw it over the robot to prevent it from shooting tear gas into the room.
The robot continued to move toward the broken window and Delarosa tried to push it away.
The robot’s operator successfully shook off the sheet and deployed tear gas into Delarosa’s hotel room.
After several minutes, Delarosa crawled through the broken window. The operator of the robot then drove it on top of Delarosa, pinning him to the ground.
That allowed the SWAT team to move in and take Delarosa into custody.
Officers were seen carrying him from the second story to the hotel’s parking lot where an ambulance was waiting.
He was taken to University Medical Center for his injuries then booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center.
His bond is set at $403,500.
The Texas Rangers are investigating. The deputy who returned fire has been placed on paid administrative leave per the department’s policy.
Copyright 2024 KCBD. All rights reserved.
