VIDEO: 3 men arrested in hotel SWAT situation near airport
Records show Alexander Blanco-Medina, 26, and Jean Nieves-Ortiz, 19, were both arrested for false imprisonment and terroristic threats and acts on June 1st. Yeiker Luis Arevalo Hernandez was arrested the following day and has been charged with aggravated assault, terroristic threats and theft by taking.
According to the report from Airport Police, all three men worked and lived at the Comfort Inn and Suites. The suspects were taken to the Chatham County Detention Center. Jail records indicate Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is investigating their immigration status.
WSAV first reported the alleged hostage situation at the Comfort Inn and Suites off Airways Avenue on June 1st. According to the report, Airport Police were dispatched to the hotel in response to a call for threats with a firearm around 4:40 p.m.
According to the front desk clerk, three men forced themselves into a room on the second floor before the male victim, the hotel manager, pushed them out and shut the door. The manager stated one of the three men was armed.
At least four officers entered the room with a key and escorted the victim out, the report stated. The victim told police that the three men didn't want to do their jobs, which sparked the altercation.
According to the report, Blanco-Medina and Nieves-Ortiz were found in the hall while other officers searched for the third suspect, later identified as Hernandez. The officers are shown on their BWC using cell phones for translation purposes before an interpreter was called.
According to the interpreter, Blanco-Medina and Nieves-Ortiz said they were hotel workers with no involvement in the incident. Though, they stated there was a disagreement with the manager.
One airport officer wrote in the report what he saw on the hotel's camera systems, 'You can see the detainees, the unknown subject and the desk clerk standing outside the room that the victim went in prior to the incident. In the video, you can see the detainees arguing and making hand gestures to the victim. During this time, you can also see the unknown subject with his hand in his right pocket, adjusting an object that has the same shame of a semi automatic pistol. The subject adjusted his grip on the object and you can clearly see the imprint of the firearm. The subject rushes the door and forces his way past the detainees. Then, the detainees also ran towards the door in an aggressive manner. The desk clerk appeared calm and didn't leave the scene. When everyone exited the room except the victim, it was as if nothing had happened.'
After the incident, the hotel camera video showed Hernandez walk into a room on the first floor. According to the report, officers tried to enter this room, but the door was shut and the lock was damaged on the inside of the room, making it impossible to enter with a master key card. Officers then evacuated the first and second floors of the hotel.
The window to the room was also locked, and officers searched the floor for the suspect. According to the officer, that was when the SWAT team was called in. Additional units from Chatham County K9, Garden City Police Department, and Pooler Police Department arrived to assist.
The SWAT team found that the suspect was not in the room on the first floor, according to the report. Chatham K9 units found two firearms wrapped in a blue t-shirt behind dumpsters on the property; the same blue shirt Hernandez was seen with on surveillance cameras.
The report stated, officers saw Hernandez fleeing onto the I-95 northbound ramp. A foot pursuit was initiated, but he was not detained that day. Meanwhile, Blanco-Medina and Nieves-Ortiz were arrested and transported to the Chatham County Detention Center for processing.
Hernandez was later arrested the next morning by Airport Police. According to officers' statements in the BWC footage, Hernandez was hiding at a nearby recreation center overnight. He then 'turned himself in' by coming to the Comfort Inn and Suites and waiting in the lobby.
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