Manhunt for parolee shuts down Downtown SLO
March 15, 2016
San Luis Obispo City Hall, Mission Prep, Old Mission School and numerous downtown businesses were placed in lockdown Monday as heavily armed officers chased an armed parolee.
On Monday afternoon, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s deputies were searching for Cambria parolee Jason Michael Atkins, 36. Deputies spotted Atkins as he was riding in a vehicle near Walnut and Peach streets in San Luis Obispo.
Deputies tried to conduct a traffic stop, but Atkins exited the vehicle and fled on foot. The driver fled in the vehicle.
A multi-agency manhunt for Atkins then began. A California Highway Patrol helicopter flew over downtown as deputies, San Luis Obispo police, Cal Fire personnel and a sheriff’s K9 searched for Atkins.
City officials said City Hall was shut down because it was believed there was a gunman running around town.
After searching for about an hour, officers found Atkins hiding in the garage of a home on Peach Street. Officers took him into custody without incident and booked him in San Luis Obispo County Jail.
Atkins currently remains in jail with his bail set at $105,000, according to the sheriff’s office website. He is facing seven charges, including violation of parole, evading an officer and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
In 2011, Atkins was the subject of a previous manhunt which followed an armed robbery in San Luis Obispo. Officers found him hiding behind a rock on Cerro San Luis.
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