Motel room standoff suspect finally caught

March 1, 2016

Ten days after San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs personnel spent 12 hours trying to contact a shooting suspect inside an empty motel room, deputies tracked down the man and arrested him.

On Feb. 19, sheriff’s deputies cordoned off a Paso Robles Motel 6, shut down a road and spent hours trying to speak to Nipomo man Richard Anthony Rodriguez, who they thought was inside a room at the motel. After deputies broke down the door, they discovered the room was empty.

Detectives were searching for Rodriguez, 30, since Feb. 16 when he allegedly fired a shot at his ex-girlfriend and two other women. That day, Rodriguez was driving in Nipomo when he pulled up alongside a vehicle with three females inside and fired a shot at them, according to the sheriff’s office.

Following the incident, the sheriff’s office advised local law enforcement to be on the lookout for Rodriguez. In the early morning of Feb. 19, Paso Robles police found Rodriguez’s vehicle at Motel 6.

Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the motel about 45 minutes later. By then, Rodriguez had likely escaped but deputies were unaware.

Deputies finally located Rodriguez Monday evening.

Around 6:25 p.m., two deputies on patrol in Arroyo Grande noticed a vehicle associated with Rodriguez. The deputies conducted a traffic stop at the intersection of Cornwall Avenue and N. Alpine Street.

Two people were in the car. The deputies identified one of them as Rodriguez and arrested him without incident.

Deputies booked Rodriguez in San Luis Obispo County Jail on charges of attempted murder and violation of parole. He remains in jail with his bail set at $500,000, according to the sheriff’s office website.