Officers have arrested a 39-year-old man after he reportedly hurled a Chihuahua off a balcony and pointed a gun at a person inside the Springtown Motel 6, officials said.
At around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, police received a call reporting a confrontation between two guests at the motel and one guest had pointed a gun at the other guest, police said.
Officers arrived on scene and spoke to one guest who was determined to be the victim. Here's further details from :
The victim stated that he had observed the suspect, Michael Hamby throw a small dog from a second floor balcony. The dog had landed on the ground below. The victim confronted Hamby about his throwing the dog. Hamby and the victim got into a verbal argument and the motel clerk intervened to separate the two and get them to go back to their rooms. A short time later the victim heard a knock at his door, and when he opened it, Hamby was standing at the door and pointed a gun at him. Hamby then fled the area.
The East Bay Tactical Team — a SWAT unit shared by Livermore and Pleasanton police — was called to the scene due to the gun being involved and Livermore police's prior history with Hamby, officials said. The tactical unit surrounded and evacuated motel rooms, as well as nearby businesses, police said.
In addition, the nearby 7-11 store and daycare on Lassen Road were temporarily placed on lockdown during the response.
SWAT team members were able to make entry to Hamby’s motel room and he was not inside. Hamby was later located in the nearby area and taken into custody at about 7:20 a.m.
Joseph Klvarik stayed overnight in his RV at the Livermore-Pleasanton Elks Lodge parking lot near the Motel 6. He told Livermore Patch that at around 4 a.m. police started using a PA system.
"They were telling someone to come out with their hands up," Klvarik said, who is traveling to South Dakota from Arizona.
At this time the victim is not participating in prosecution of Hamby, police said.
Hamby was arrested for a violation of 597 PC, animal cruelty which is a felony, police said. He will be booked at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.
More updates provided by police:
Officers were unable to locate the gun Hamby used in this incident. The dog that was thrown from the balcony was located and found to be uninjured.
Hamby’s prior history with LPD includes an incident on 4/27/12 where he was arrested for assault, child endangerment, and possession of an illegal firearm.
