Cerritos 911 call about slaying is called hoax

A 58-year-old Cerritos man whose son was killed in 2006 is undergoing mental evaluation today after he called police to his home Thursday night for a two-hour standoff, falsely claiming that he had shot his son and was holding the rest of his family hostage, authorities said.

The man called 911 at about 10:15 p.m., requesting paramedics respond to his home in the 17200 block of Ibex Avenue, said Sgt. Donald Alexander with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department's Cerritos Station. When deputies responded, the man briefly came out the front door, then went back inside, ignoring deputies' requests that he come talk to them.

The man apparently made a second call to deputies from inside the house, complaining that he had asked for paramedics and there were too many people gathered outside, including a SWAT team, a mental evaluation team and a helicopter.

Authorities entered the house about midnight, Alexander said, where deputies found no victims, hostages or weapons and determined the call was a hoax. The man then told authorities that he had not placed the cellphone calls, although his voice matched the recordings. Authorities were unable to locate the phone, Alexander said.

"The whole thing is weird," Alexander said.

Authorities did not arrest the man, but brought him to a hospital for a 72-hour mental evaluation.

Although deputies did write up a report naming the man as suspected of falsely reporting an emergency, they will likely not pursue the charge.

"We thought that it was more appropriate to have him mentally evaluated than to charge him with a crime," Alexander said. "Basically it's more important to get him helped."

The man's 38-year-old son was killed two years ago; a trial in the case is just beginning, Alexander said.