Man in standoff to be arraigned Dec. 22

A 22-year-old Huntington Beach man with a prior drug conviction is scheduled to appear in court again later this month to answer several allegations related to a carjacking that led to the man barricading himself in a home and holding police at bay for nearly 10 hours, police said.

Orange County prosecutors charged Zachary J. Matthews with attempted robbery and carjacking in a series of incidents Nov. 30 that forced police to evacuate almost an entire neighborhood on the northwest side of Huntington Beach.

Westminster Police at about 12:30 p.m. spotted Matthews behind the wheel of a white Chevy S-10 that had been reported hijacked just minutes before, Huntington Beach Lt. Craig Junginger said. The officers eventually lost him and sent out a broadcast for back-up via a countywide network.

Other officers picked up the trail again and then lost him again, Junginger said. Finally, Westminster officers caught up to Matthews again, but he had abandoned the car and they started running after him, Junginger said. He apparently ditched the car after crashing into a sound wall on Bolsa Park Lane, Junginger added.

The foot-chase led through a flood channel in Huntington Beach and back into the neighborhood where Matthews had left the car, police said. He then forced his way into a vacant rental home in a cul-de-sac on the 6000 block of Cornell Drive, holding a semi-automatic handgun to his head, Junginger said.

“I saw police looking over the brick wall into the house below,” said Rick Jasperson, who was working in the industrial park just across Springdale Street. “Then I got a text message [that] a guy had a gun at a friend’s house just down the street.”

All streets leading into the cul-de-sac were blocked off, and police evacuated residents near the home.

Nearby Schroeder Elementary School was on lockdown, especially for children living west of the school grounds, where the blockade began.

Josh Brackemyer, 13, waited for hours behind the yellow police tape keeping him away from his home, which was just across Cornell where Matthews allegedly locked himself in for hours.

“No one was living in it, but some people were checking it out the other day,” Josh said.

Huntington Beach police stood guard in front of the house throughout the day and attempted to negotiate a surrender. Several hours later, police began tear-gassing the home, but Matthews would not come out, authorities said.

Finally, SWAT officers stormed the house at about 8:15 p.m. Thursday but could not find him until he was spotted hiding in the attic at about 9:45 p.m., Junginger said.

Apparently Matthews’ grandmother lived in the neighborhood. It is possible he was trying to reach her home before getting cornered in the cul-de-sac, police said.

Although investigators were unsure why Matthews barricaded himself in the house, Huntington Police were certain of one thing. He just made things worse for himself, police said.

“With breaking into the house, there are additional charges that could add additional jail time to his sentence,” Junginger said.

Matthews appeared in court on Monday, when his arraignment was continued until Dec. 22 in the West Court Justice Center in Westminster. He was being held on $1 million bail, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s office.