Four Los Angeles-area boys who were the subjects of an Amber Alert were found safe in San Diego County Thursday and their biological father was taken into custody following a roughly 90-minute standoff on state Route 52.
Daniel Perez, 43, of Montebello stopped the black 2014 Toyota Camry he was driving in the middle of the eastbound state Route 52 connector road to state Route 67 about 8:30 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. A standoff ensued until around 9:50 a.m., when two SWAT vehicles pulled up to the front and the back of the Camry and officers in full tactical gear approached the suspect and took him into custody.
Sometime around 8 a.m., officers pursued Perez from the downtown El Cajon area to state Route 125 to the highway ramp where he stopped. A CHP spokesman said that officers located Perez in the downtown El Cajon area earlier Thursday using the LoJack technology installed on the Camry.
Just before 9 a.m., two of the four young boys got out safely and ran to nearby authorities, but two others remained in the vehicle along with their father until he was taken into custody.
Before the SWAT vehicles pulled up, about a dozen law enforcement cruisers and SUVs stopped behind the Camry, which was on an elevated transition roadway. Officers with weapons drawn were just yards from the car.
Perez was talking to law enforcement via cell phone, the CHP said.
Early Thursday morning, an Amber Alert was issued for Alex Hayden Perez, 6, Tristin Devin Perez, 8, Jaden Eric Perez, 9, and Jordan Dante Perez, 11, according to the CHP. The alert went into effect at 1:38 a.m., CHP Officer Francisco Villalobos said.
Authorities said the boys were believed to be with their biological father and possibly traveling in a black 2014 Toyota Camry, California license plate No. 7FDS891.
Montebello police named Perez a person of interest in the disappearance of his 39-year-old wife, Erica. A woman's body was found in the trunk of a car belonging to the family on Wednesday but authorities said Thursday morning that a "security hold" had been placed on the case, preventing the coroner's office from releasing information.
The Perez family was last seen Friday, police said, adding that extended family members described the couple's marriage as unstable and bedeviled by domestic violence.
