Sheriff's Deputies Search Neighborhood for Allegedly Armed Man

Residents in the northwest corner of Altadena were disturbed by the sounds of sirens and a police helicopter Thursday night around 10 p.m., as more than a dozen police units from the Crescenta Valley and Altadena sheriff's stations converged on the area around the 2900 block of El Nido Drive looking for a man who apparently threatened a woman with a gun, according to authorities.

After a search that lasted about an hour, the man was not located, according to Charles Youngstrom, watch deputy at the Altadena station.

Youngstrom told Patch that the station received a call at 9:30 p.m. Thursday night from a woman who claimed that a man pointed a gun at her. Deputies who knew the man searched for and found him near El Nido Drive, but he allegedly ran away.

"[Deputies] roll up and see someone matching a description of the suspect. The guy sees the deputies and he takes off running," Sgt. Allen Harris of the Altadena sheriff’s department told Patch at the scene. "They saw him going over fences and into people’s backyards. So, they contained the area, requested an air unit and K-9 units."

Harris is with the Gang Investigation Team for the Altadena sheriff’s station and said the man they are searching for is a gang member.

"He’s known. He’s from the area, has friends in the area," Harris said. "We’re pretty sure that he’s a gang member, so that house there, there’s a couple houses where known gang members congregate."