Santa Clara: Neighborhood Lockdown and Gun Scare

Domestic Violence Suspect Leads to Neighborhood Lockdown

Santa Clara police lifted a lockdown on a neighborhood near Lawrence Expressway this morning after they arrested the suspect they were looking for, a dispatcher said.

Joshua Benson, a 27-year-old parolee, surrendered to police sometime around 9:30 a.m. after hiding at a friend's house in the area, police said.

Police were dispatched to a neighborhood near Santa Rosa Court after receiving a call about a domestic violence incident at 4:40 a.m., Santa Clara police Lt. Wahid Kazem and a dispatcher said.

Police believed the man was armed and dangerous, and established a quarter-mile perimeter around the neighborhood. Residents were told to shelter in place, Kazem said.

Kazem said the suspect was on parole for a violent crime.

—By Bay City News

Gun Scare at a Westmont Retirement Community

In a second incident in Santa Clara this morning, police combed the floors of a retirement home after an employee reported seeing a man with a gun earlier.

Guy Cox, manager at the Westmont retirement community at 1675 Scott Blvd., said a stranger came up to a female employee around 9 a.m. and told her to "stay away," and not to follow him.

The employee said she saw a gun tucked into his pants, Cox said.

Cox said police had been at the independent living center since before 10 a.m., searching the building's four floors.

About a quarter of the residents have been taken outside the building while police conduct the search. The rest, Cox said, "are scared and in their rooms." He said the average age of the residents is 85.

The search ended later Thursday morning and no arrests were made.

—By Bay City News