Soto Madera
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Luzerne County First Assistant District Attorney Anthony Ross and Wilkes-Barre Police Chief Joseph Coffay speak with reporters following an hours-long standoff on Sambourne Street on Tuesday.
Ed Lewis | Times Leader
Ed Lewis | Times Leader
Ed Lewis | Times Leader
Ed Lewis | Times Leader
Ed Lewis | Times Leader
Troopers with the Pennsylvania State Police Special Emergency Response Team are seen behind 141 Sambourne St., Wilkes-Barre, on Tuesday.
Ed Lewis | Times Leader
Wilkes-Barre police detectives wearing haz-mat protective suits are seen about to enter 141 Sambourne St., Wilkes-Barre, on Tuesday.
Ed Lewis | Times Leader
An hours-long standoff followed a domestic incident in this home at at 141 Sambourne St., Wilkes-Barre, on Tuesday. The suspect was later found not to be inside, and was considered armed and dangerous.
Ed Lewis | Times Leader
WILKES-BARRE — Police on Tuesday said they were searching for an “armed and dangerous” man following a domestic incident in which shots were fired inside a home in the city.
Troopers with the Pennsylvania State Police Special Emergency Response Team surrounded the house at 141 Sambourne St., using a public address system to communicate, flash grenades and sirens to lure out the suspect, who authorities say is Luis Angel Soto Madera, 54.
Madera allegedly pulled a gun and shot it in the direction of his stepdaughter and her boyfriend because he was awakened at about 9 a.m.
The all-clear was given at about 5:30 p.m. when Madera was not found inside the residence.
“Wilkes-Barre police were dispatched to a domestic incident that occurred at 141 Sambourne St., here in Wilkes-Barre. It was reported that the suspect Luis Angel Soto Madera fired a shot at a family member. There were no injuries,” Luzerne County First Assistant District Attorney Anthony Ross said.
“Based upon the information, Special Emergency Response Team with the Pennsylvania State Police assisted with the search of the home. No one was located inside the home and the investigation remains ongoing,” Ross added.
Madera, who is described as bald Hispanic male, 5 feet, 4 inches tall, approximately 160 pounds, is considered armed and dangerous, Ross said.
Wilkes-Barre Police Chief Joseph Coffay said he does not believe Madera has family in the area. It was unknown how Madera fled the house, whether on foot or in a vehicle.
An arrest warrant issued early Tuesday afternoon by District Judge Rick Cronauer charges Madera with two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of illegal possession of a firearm and reckless endangerment.
According to the warrant:
Luzerne County 911 received a call around 9 a.m. from a woman reporting that she had been shot at by her stepfather, whom she identified as Soto Madera.
Officers were dispatched to the scene and quickly secured the perimeter. Three of the occupants of the home eventually came outside.
The incident started, according to the warrant, when Soto Madera got into an altercation with his stepdaughter about making noise and waking him up. He allegedly tried to initially lock her out of the house, then told the woman’s mother to do something or “he will take care of it.”
Soto Madera then went upstairs and came back with a handgun, pointing it at his stepdaughter and her boyfriend and firing a shot, allegedly saying “look what you made me do” as he pulled the trigger.
The victims were able to get upstairs, away from Soto Madera, to call 911. Officers were told that Soto Madera has multiple firearms inside the home.
A review of Soto Madera’s criminal history in New York turned up burglary and robbery convictions that make him ineligible to legally possess a handgun in Pennsylvania.
The closure of several streets in the neighborhood impacted several home health nurses and delivery drivers. A city police officer hurried a U.S. postal carrier from South Franklin Street, which was closed to traffic and pedestrians.