Delivery Truck Thief Arrested After SWAT Standoff In Fremont: Police

FREMONT, CA — A person suspected of stealing a delivery truck has been arrested following an hours-long standoff with a SWAT team in Fremont early Thursday morning, authorities said.

Police say someone called 911 to report a delivery truck driving "erratically" in the 5500 block of Cushing Parkway just after 1:30 a.m.

Officers responded to the scene where the driver of the truck led them on a short chase before the vehicle became disabled just north of Auto Mall Parkway, according to the Fremont Police Department.

The suspect, who police initially believed could be armed, barricaded themselves in the truck and refused to come out, police said.

This prompted the Fremont Police Department to deploy its SWAT team. A negotiator tried to get the suspect to surrender, but they refused, authorities said.

After more than four hours, the SWAT team breached the vehicle's door, and the suspect had safely surrendered, police said.

The suspect, identified as Union City resident Rafael Taniguchi Garcia, 27, was taken into custody on suspicion of taking a vehicle without consent, recklessly evading, and obstructing, resisting, or delaying a peace officer, police said.

Gimmer Boulevard and Auto Mall Parkway were closed for several hours due to the incident, but appear to have since reopened.