Indio Gas Station Brawl Triggers Standoff; Five in Custody; One Hospitalized

A brawl at an Indio gas station left a man hospitalized with serious injuries and five of his companions in custody, including a juvenile who holed up inside an apartment for several hours before surrendering Monday, police reported. The fight was reported at 10:33 p.m. Sunday at a Chevron gas station at Highway 111 and Monroe Street, according to Indio Police Department spokesman Ben Guitron. Police believe the brawl began when a group of six males in a blue Toyota confronted two men and a woman who were working on the tire of a Ford car, he said. At some point, the three fled from the gas station in the Ford and in the process hit one of the men who had allegedly instigated the melee, according to Guitron. The injured man, whose name was not released, was dropped off at a hospital by his companions and was listed in critical but stable condition, Guitron said. Police eventually tracked down the five other suspects to the Cielo Visto apartment complex in the 81800 block of Shadow Palm Street, where officers spotted a rifle and handgun on the balcony of a second-story unit, but no one initially answered the door, he said. Four people later came out of the apartment and were taken into custody, though a fifth suspect, an unnamed juvenile with an outstanding warrant, remained inside and refused to come out, Guitron said. Residents in some of the neighboring apartments were evacuated and police negotiators attempted to convince the suspect to surrender. He finally came to the door around 6:40 Monday morning and was arrested without incident, Guitron said. Police said the two men and the woman who fled in the Ford were cooperating with investigators, and did not rule out the possibility of additional arrests.