Hostage standoff ends quietly

Greg Risling

COSTA MESA -- A 23-year-old cook who had a beef with a retirement home

co-worker surrendered to police Wednesday morning after he held the

victim hostage for about 12 hours.

Juan Manuel Martinez of Costa Mesa was charged with false imprisonment

and assault with a deadly weapon. He is being held in lieu of $50,000

bail and is scheduled to be arraigned at Harbor Justice Center today.

The series of events began at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday when the

23-year-old victim came to work at Costa Neuporte Senior Living Facility

in the 2200 block of Fairview Road. When the victim walked into the

kitchen, Martinez was lying in wait with a baseball bat and carrying a

pair of handcuffs and padlocks, police said.

Martinez was reportedly upset with the victim over “work-related” issues,

but Costa Mesa police did not elaborate on the details Wednesday night.

Martinez surprised his co-worker and confronted him. Startled by the

suspect, the victim tried to run away, but Martinez attempted to handcuff

his ankle to a metal fixture. The co-worker tried to wriggle free and in

doing so, sprained his ankle.

Once the victim was restrained, Martinez barricaded himself and the man.

Police couldn’t confirm whether Martinez made any threats, but said he

did talk to the employee about several issues throughout the night.

Authorities said Martinez fell asleep and around 8:30 a.m. other

employees began coming to work. The victim found a piece of paper, wrote

a note for help and slipped it underneath a door.

An employee called police who responded to the scene. Negotiators then

made contact with Martinez and he agreed to surrender.

“He came out on his own,” said Sgt. Don Holford.

The hostage drove himself to Hoag Hospital, where he received treatment

for a mild ankle sprain and released.