John Johnson File Photo/Gila Herald: The Thatcher Police Department (with the help of Safford Police Department officers and Graham County Sheriff’s Office agents) barricaded themselves in a travel trailer early Saturday morning. discovered. The result was an hour-long investigation. standoff.
Subject barricaded himself in the Dairy Estate
Contributed article/courtesy: Schaffen Woods, Police Chief Thatcher
Thatcher – Early this morning, at about 2:00 am, officers from the Thatcher Police Department discovered a man named Robert Merino, aka Bobby Merino, 35, in a travel trailer behind a residence on Woods Avene. Found the subject. Merino was wanted on a felony warrant.
Officers obtained a warrant to enter the compound to detain him. Officers from the Safford Police Department and agents from the Graham County Sheriff’s Office rushed to the scene to help. Based on the information we have received, it has been decided to use Safford PD’s MRAPs (Armored Vehicles) to assist the officers. MRAP was then also deployed in the field.
Shortly after 6:30 this morning, police and lawmakers used loudspeakers to try to force Merino to surrender, but were unsuccessful. After several attempts to persuade Merino, officers breached the travel trailer and found it barricaded.
Merino was found hiding in a trailer and taken into custody without incident. Merino was believed to have been under the influence of an unknown substance at the time of his arrest. He was taken to Mount Graham Regional Medical Center for evaluation.
Officers obtained a second warrant to search the trailer for illegal items based on their apparent observation of the trailer. During the search, officers found several firearms, ammunition, controlled substances and narcotics paraphernalia in the trailer.
Merino will serve jail time on felony warrants and drug and weapons charges after he is released from the hospital.
We would like to thank the Safford Police Department and the Graham County Sheriff’s Department for their cooperation in this matter. We also thank the local residents for their patience and cooperation in their efforts to keep this situation safe for all.
Schaffen D. Woods/Police Chief
