At about 7:46pm Monday, Turlock Police responded to a verbal disturbance in progress at a residence in the 1700 block of Elmcrest Court.

The caller reported that her roommate, Gerardo Partida, 26, of Turlock, was inside the residence and had threatened to assault her. She also stated that he was under the influence of a controlled substance and was known to carry a firearm.

When dispatchers ran Partida, they discovered he had a no-bail local felony bench warrant for fleeing from a peace officer by vehicle with disregard for public safety and was also on post release community supervision for possession of a controlled substance for sale, inflicting corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant, fleeing from a peace officer by vehicle with disregard for public safety, and vandalism.

While waiting for officers to arrive, the caller and a relative of Partida locked themselves in a bedroom.

Partida continued to make threats of violence through the locked door, causing the two to climb out of a bedroom window to meet with officers safely.

Officers were then informed that two additional family members were still inside the house with Partida. 

Several attempts to contact Partida were made through various measures to determine if the family members were held hostage, but they were unsuccessful.

At about 12:32am, the police department’s Critical Response Team, which consists of Special Weapons and Tactics and Hostage Negotiations, was activated and responded to the scene.

Several more attempts to contact Partida and the family members were made but were unsuccessful.

Through the course of the incident, information was developed that the family members were indeed being held against their will by Partida and were in immediate danger of physical violence.

SWAT team members forced entry into the residence and rescued both family members from Partida’s control.

Turlock Fire and American Medical Response had been staged nearby. They were immediately transported to local hospitals with major injuries inflicted by Partida.

Partida was arrested and booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on two counts of attempted murder, two counts of false imprisonment, two counts of threatening to commit a crime which will result in death or great bodily injury to another person, and elder abuse or endangerment under circumstances likely to produce great bodily harm or death, as well as his warrant.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims as they continue undergoing care for their significant injuries at a Modesto area hospital,” said Chief Hedden.

The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information that could assist in it is encouraged to call Detective Francisco Navarro at 209-664-7319.