Costa Mesa man in standoff with police could face felony charges of attempted homicide, child endangerment

A Costa Mesa man who barricaded himself and two minors inside a residence for nearly 10 hours following a domestic disturbance Wednesday has been arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide, felony domestic violence and child endangerment and threatening an officer.

Tyler Nathan Thornton, 37, of Costa Mesa was safely taken into custody at 10:13 a.m. after he allegedly assaulted his wife during an altercation that took place after midnight on the 3200 block of Dakota Avenue, the Costa Mesa Police Department reported.

While the victim fled the scene, the couple’s two children remained inside the home during the hours-long standoff. Police said Thornton was a registered gun owner who was believed to have firearms inside the residence and, at one point, threatened officers at the scene.

Costa Mesa police officers stand at the ready as Tyler Nathan Thornton, 37, surrenders after an hours-long standoff Wednesday morning along the 3200 block of Dakota Avenue.

(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)

CMPD officers established a perimeter around the residence and evacuated adjacent residents as a precaution, the department stated in a Wednesday morning news release. Pedestrian and vehicle traffic were rerouted by traffic officers for several hours Wednesday morning.

A SWAT team and the department’s K9 Unit were deployed to the scene, where a crisis negotiation team engaged in communications with Thornton to get him to peacefully exit the home.

Two nearby schools — Newport-Mesa Unified’s California Elementary School and TeWinkle Middle School — were notified of the standoff but were not placed on lockdown. District spokeswoman Annette Franco said parents were notified of the incident.

After Thornton was taken into custody and the children had been safely returned to their mother, officers searched the Dakota Avenue residence and recovered one handgun, two long guns and one airsoft replica gun inside, according to the release.

The case has been turned over to the Orange County district attorney’s office for review. Information on the victims, including the two minors, was not being released to the public to protect their identities.

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