Haslet Home Damage Revealed Day After Standoff
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HASLET (CBSDFW.COM) -A standoff in Tarrant County on Tuesday left a house with so much damage, the owner believes it will be six months before he can move back in.
So much gas was fired into the home, it still hung in the air a day after the incident, sending crime scene teams and a work crews into coughing fits, and struggling at times to breathe.
A closer look at the home on Cedar Lane in Haslet, a day after the standoff, showed every window broken.
Every door but the back door was forced open. A truck in the garage had flat tires and a shattered back window.
The worst damage, according to the homeowner, was inside and unseen.
Residue from nearly 100 gas canisters covered clothing, furniture and walls. It would have to be gutted he feared, before he could live there again.
Mario Santillan, on the crew trying to board up the windows, said the residue was blowing off the window sills and shrubs out front. He had to take a break after every few nails he hammered in, just to catch his breath.
"I feel it in my face, kinda burning a little bit," he said. "And my throat, too. Just making my nose run a lot."
The damage happened as SWAT teams from Tarrant County and Fort Worth tried to catch Jose Lomeli, Jr.
Wanted for stalking and violating a protection order, police said the 44-year-old tried to drive away from police before stopping and running into the house.
The owner was inside at the time sleeping, ran out when he heard Lomeli inside.
He warned officers there were guns in the house, one of which he said Lomeli later fired through the roof.
It wasn't immediately clear if Tarrant County would help pay to repair the damage to the home.
Usually, a county spokesman said, insurance companies pursue reimbursement through a risk management board that assesses how much financial responsibility the county is willing to accept.
