Drunken man fires at officers during standoff in Lemoore, police say

A drunken Lemoore man held police in a standoff on Friday, firing a gun out of the window of a house and triggering the evacuation of neighbors via an armored vehicle, according to the Lemoore Police Department.

Teddy Mata, 41, was eventually arrested after he emerged from a house in the 500 block of East Hazelwood Drive at 3 a.m., almost 7 hours after police were called.

Officers arrived to the home around 8:30 p.m. Friday and heard gunshots coming from inside the home, according to a news release. Authorities were told Mata had two guns and was inside the home alone. Before making contact with Mata, the surrounding neighbors were escorted out of their houses.

When Mata allegedly began firing at officers, the rest of the residents were evacuated by armored car with the help of the Kings County Sheriff’s Office and the Central Valley Regional SWAT team.

Officers called Mata over the phone and used microphones outside to convince him to surrender, the news release says. When he did come out, he was “unwilling to comply,” police said, and a K9 helped with the arrest.

No officers discharged their weapon in the incident, police said.

Mata was taken to the hospital for treatment and will be booked into the Kings County Jail upon his release, officers said.