At-large suspect arrested by SWAT team

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COBB – A man being sought following a confrontation with Lake County Sheriff's deputies earlier this week was arrested without incident by members of the sheriff's SWAT team late Wednesday.


Victor Bronco Rodin, 43, of Cobb was arrested at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at his mother's Clearlake Oaks home, Chief Deputy James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office reported Thursday.


Rodin had been sought by sheriff's deputies since Tuesday night, when he had confronted two deputies at his ex-girlfriend's house on Brookside Drive, as Lake County News has reported.


Believing he was armed and about to shoot at them, one of the deputies shot once at Rodin, who was not hurt, Bauman said.


Rodin fled on foot into the woods, where deputies searched for him until 1 a.m. Wednesday. Later that day, a sheriff's SWAT team resumed the search for Rodin, who Bauman said was a convicted felon with a history of unstable behavior.


From 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday SWAT members went door to door in the immediate vicinity of the

Brookside Drive home to check unoccupied homes and make sure residents knew Rodin was at large, Bauman reported.


Sheriff’s personnel continued to follow up on leads regarding Rodin’s whereabouts in the Cobb Mountain area until about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Bauman said.


At about that time the sheriff’s office received a call from Rodin's mother, who reported that he was at her home in Clearlake Oaks and was prepared to turn himself in to authorities, according to Bauman.


Several members of the SWAT team responded to the Clearlake Oaks home, Bauman reported, while the California Highway Patrol set up precautionary road blocks in the area along State Highway 20 to avert another potential escape.


Bauman said sheriff's deputies took Rodin into custody without resistance at about 10:30 p.m.


At that point they also confirmed that Rodin had not been injured as a result of the gunfire the

previous night on Brookside Drive, Bauman said.


Rodin was booked into the Lake County Jail early Thursday morning on misdemeanor charges of a felon in possession of tear gas, resisting/obstructing a peace officer and two unrelated arrest warrant, according to jail records. Bail was set at $7,000.


Bauman said the sheriff's office used its telephonic warning system to send out a public safety alert at about 10:30 a.m. Thursday to inform Cobb residents that Rodin had been apprehended. The previous day, the sheriff's office used the system to notify 600 people in the community of the situation.


This is the first time the system – purchased a few years ago – been used for a community safety alert, said Bauman. Previously, it had been used for staff and search and rescue callouts. “It's a pretty handy item to have.”


Bauman said he was not sure if the deputy who fired the shot at Rodin was placed on leave, although he had been off on Wednesday night. District Attorney's investigators had been called to the scene at Cobb late Tuesday to conduct an investigation into the officer-involved shooting.


Information on Rodin's past felony conviction was not available, however, Bauman said sheriff's deputies have had previous contact with him.


“His local record shows several warrants in the past several years,” said Bauman.


Rodin also was arrested in 2004 for spousal battery, according to Bauman, who said he did not know if the woman involved was the ex-girlfriend in whose home Rodin was found Tuesday night.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..


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