AURORA - A fugitive who barricaded himself inside an Aurora home Saturday has surrendered to police following a standoff that lasted for several hours.
Police first received a tip that Mario Lopez, 35, was staying inside of a home at 1373 Florence Street at 9 a.m. Lopez was wanted for felony menacing and possession of a concealed weapon.
Citing Lopez's criminal history, police proceeded to set up a perimeter around the residence and asked the occupants to come outside via a loudspeaker. Police say everyone inside other than Lopez complied.
Police say they then shot what they call a "less-lethal" foam projectile into a window to get Lopez to surrender. SWAT was mobilized at around 11 a.m. after he refused to come outside.
SWAT negotiators were able to speak to Lopez on the phone, however, he denied being inside and eventually hung up. Police continued to try and contact him, however he did not answer, according to a news release from the Aurora Police Department.
Authorities obtained a search warrant for the residence at around 4:30 p.m. SWAT then used gas to try and get Lopez to leave the home.
A few minutes later, police say Lopez, who had been hiding in a crawl space, surrendered.
Lopez was taken into custody without incident and has been transported to the Aurora Detention Center, where he's being booked on his outstanding warrants.
He could face additional charges for Saturday's incident.
Florence Avenue was blocked between 13th and 14th Avenue during the investigation. No other homes were evacuated.
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