Knife-wielding barricader stays in jail

A man who barricaded himself with a knife in a Chula Vista hotel was sentenced July 2 to one year and four months in jail.

The projected release date for Garry Israel Romero, 26, is set for Dec. 7. He received credits for serving 169 days in jail since the April 7 incident which started when he was seen trying to break into some apartments in the 300 block of G Street in Chula Vista.

Police were called when he pulled a knife on one man. Romero fled to the lobby of the El Primero Hotel, at 416 Third Ave. and witnesses said he still had a knife. A SWAT team was activated and he dove out of a window. He ran into an iron gate and was taken to the ground by a police dog.

Because of some vandalism to the hotel, a restitution hearing will be heard of Aug. 4 to see if Romero should pay for the damages, said Deputy District Attorney John Dunlap. He pleaded guilty to resisting an executive officer and felony possession of a dagger.

Charges of burglary, assault, vandalism, attempted burglary, and being a felon in possession of ammunition were dismissed when he pleaded guilty to the other charges in Chula Vista Superior Court.

Dunlap asked Judge Garry Haehnle for a 2-year term for Romero while his attorney asked for a one year term. Haehnle ordered that Romero serve one year and four months on supervision with the sheriff’s department after he is released from jail.

Court records said he was on probation at the time for a 2013 false imprisonment conviction in which he grabbed a woman on a Chula Vista sidewalk and briefly held her against her will. He was sentenced to 29 days in jail for that.