Oak Park man arrested after armed confrontation, SWAT response

A 19-year-old Oak Park man was arrested July 7 after he pointed a handgun at two concrete workers, fired rounds inside his home, and prompted a SWAT team response, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office July 8 release.

Deputies responded to the 5800 block of Hickory Drive at 1:55 p.m. after a report of a man brandishing a firearm. While en route, dispatchers heard what sounded like a gunshot from the area, per the sheriff's release.

The victims had been performing concrete work in front of the suspect's residence when they had a brief interaction with the suspect, later identified as Emmett Laggis. After the exchange, the victims walked to their vehicle. Laggis then exited his residence, approached them, produced a handgun from his waistband, and pointed it at both victims, the release states.

Laggis ordered one victim out of the vehicle at gunpoint and demanded the keys. He searched one victim for keys but could not find them, then returned to his residence while still armed.

Deputies established a perimeter and issued a shelter-in-place warning to nearby residents. After repeated attempts to contact Laggis failed, the Sheriff's Office activated its SWAT team and Tactical Negotiation Unit.

Negotiators established brief communication with Laggis. During the incident, Laggis broke a window, exited through it, and attempted to flee. Deputies took him into custody without further incident.

A search warrant executed at the residence uncovered evidence that two rounds had been fired inside the home. Investigators also recovered large-capacity magazines.

Laggis was booked into the Ventura County Pre-Trial Detention Facility on $500,000 bail. He faces two counts of assault with a firearm, kidnapping, attempted robbery, two counts of negligent discharge of a firearm, and two counts of possession of a large-capacity magazine.