Man sought in murder case fuels standoff at Oakhurst hotel. Here’s how it was resolved
Oakhurst residents and business owners along Highway 41 were asked to stay inside and the highway was closed Saturday as a man linked to a Fresno County killing engaged in a standoff that ended with the man taken into custody, the Madera County Sheriff’s Office reported.
A shelter-in-place alert was issued by the Sheriff’s Office shortly after noon for those near the Mountain Trail Lodge in the 42100 block of Highway 41.
The man, later identified as Alejandro Chavarria, 33, was barricaded in a hotel room. People in the area were asked to stay inside homes and stores and shut and lock doors and windows.
Highway 41 was temporarily closed between Road 222 and Empty Creek Road, Undersheriff Patrick Majeski said.
The Madera County Regional SWAT team was called in to negotiate.
Shortly after 2 p.m., the “SWAT team safely concluded the incident ... by taking the barricaded subject into custody without incident,” the Sheriff’s Office stated. The closed stretch of the highway was scheduled to reopen.
Chavarria was said to be wanted for questioning in a Fresno County murder, though details of that case were not immediately available. He was arrested for now on suspicion of a parole violation, illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, and violation of a domestic violence restraining order.
This story was originally published October 10, 2020 at 1:34 PM.