Police searching for “armed and dangerous” Ontario man after standoff

Officers with the Ontario Police Department are searching for a suspect wanted on multiple charges after a standoff on Tuesday morning, according to an OPD press release.

The suspect, 32-year-old Christopher Deleon, has an outstanding warrant for assault 4 domestic violence, coercion, strangulation and menacing.

According to OPD, officers were responding to a call in the 600 block of SE 6th Street around 8:30 a.m. when they received information that Deleon, who is from Ontario, was in a nearby apartment. He was believed to be armed and dangerous.

Deleon was believed to be at the residence of 25-year-old Daniel Phipps, who also had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear. Officers with OPD, Oregon State Police and Malheur County Sheriff’s Office set up a perimeter around Phipps’ apartment and attempted to contact Phipps and Deleon while they obtained a search warrant for the residence.

Shortly after noon, officers made contact with Phipps, and he exited the apartment and was arrested without incident. Officers were also able to make contact with Deleon via phone, but were unable to convince him to turn himself in, police said. OSP’s SWAT team entered the residence, and Deleon was not inside. Police said they believe he is in the Ontario area.

Police searched another location where Deleon was believed to be and were unable to locate him. A canvass of the area also left law enforcement empty-handed.

Anyone who sees Deleon is urged to stay away from him and contact law enforcement immediately by calling 911 or a local law enforcement office, according to the release.

This story was originally published February 7, 2017 at 11:13 AM with the headline "Police searching for “armed and dangerous” Ontario man after standoff."