Visalia SWAT standoff ends with house fire, suspect found dead inside

A man barricaded inside a Visalia home was found dead late Wednesday night after a fire erupted in the structure, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office reported.

SWAT officers surrounded the home in the 3500 block of Grandview Road after it was reported by a relative that Juan Delgado, 35, was armed with a gun and had made threats to a 15-year-old female, a sheriff’s spokesperson reported. A family member, 59, was also in the house.

Negotiators were unable to convince Delgado to come out, although the relative, who had been trying to get Delgado to surrender, left the home several hours later. The spokesman said Delgado apparently started a fire about 10:40 p.m. Firefighters, using an armored vehicle, were able to put the blaze out and Delgado was found dead inside.

This story was originally published December 28, 2017 at 8:23 AM with the headline "Visalia SWAT standoff ends with house fire, suspect found dead inside."