Armed Clearlake man arrested after police standoff

A report Monday afternoon of an armed man in a Clearlake home holding people hostage brought several officers to Olive Street where they evacuated nearby homes and arrested the man, according to Clearlake police.

A 911 call came in at 1:53 p.m. from a woman who said she had fled the home, jumping out a window, after an armed man had come inside the home, said Clearlake police Sgt. Nick Bennett.

Officers surrounded the house. Suspect Otis Woodford, 37, came outside at one point but then ran back inside, police said. Within minutes he came out again and was taken into custody at about 2:50 p.m.

Inside the home were several adults and children. All were unharmed, police said. Bennett said the suspect apparently knew most of the people in the home.

Officers found a loaded .45-caliber handgun on a couch and learned it was stolen from an owner in Lompoc.

Officers arrested Woodford, a Clearlake resident, on suspicion of six felonies, including false imprisonment with violence and willful cruelty to a child, being a felon with a gun and ammunition and a stolen gun. He was booked into the Lake County Jail at 8:20 p.m. with bail set at $75,000.

Sgt. Tim Hobbs asked anyone with information about the incident to contact him at 707-994-8251 ext. 312.