A 75-year-old retired Superior Court judge was was freed on bail Thursday afternoon after an armed standoff in West Los Angeles overnight.
The siege in the 1900 block of Barrington Avenue began after officers responded to a call about shots being fired at 11:40 p.m. (2:40 a.m. ET) Wednesday, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said. When officers arrived, they looked through a window and saw a man alone on a couch loading two guns, police told The Associated Press.
The man inside the home did not respond to officers and pointed a gun at his own head. Officers then heard a gunshot inside the townhouse and called for SWAT backup, police said.
"They made several demands that he disarm himself and exit, however, he refused," said LAPD Sgt. Barry Montgomery. "During that communication process, while outside, officers heard two rounds being fired which they observed shater a glass door."
Officers did not return fire, Montgomery said.
The man, who was reported to have multiple weapons inside the home, surrendered at 1:45 a.m. (4:45 a.m. ET) Thursday. Police did not find anyone else inside the home.
A neighbor told NBC4 that screams could be heard early Thursday coming from the residence.
Authorities confirmed the man is a retired Superior Court judge, identified as James Bascue. Bascue was appointed to the court in 1990 after serving as a prosecutor with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.
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Colleagues described him as "innovative and creative." Robert Philibosian, who served as district attorney in the early 1980s, said his former chief deputy became "isolated" in recent years.
Bascue helped form the district attorney office's Hard Core Gang Unit, a prosecutorial gang supression program. He was outspoken about the state's three-strikes law -- increased penalties for people convicted of a felony who have been previously convicted of two or more violent crimes or serious felonies -- and the caseload placed on local courts as opportunities for rehabilitation were abandoned.
Bascue was honored in 2002 by the Judicial Council of California with its Jurist of the Year award.
He stepped down in 2007 after turning 67.
Bascue was booked on assault with a deadly weapon and held on $100,000 bail Thursday morning, according to jail records. The records did not indicate a scheduled court date.
NBC4's Michael Larkin contributed to this report.
