A Bonita man has pleaded guilty to making a criminal threat to his girlfriend just before there was an 8-hour SWAT standoff on May 17.
Sentencing is set for Oct. 8 for James Shannon Gilbert, 38, in Chula Vista Superior Court. He could face a 4-year prison term.
Gilbert also has admitted two prior convictions of domestic violence in 2011 and 2016 for which he received prison terms, an official said on Tuesday. This can increase the sentence.
A judge on Aug. 12 dismissed charges of domestic violence in an April 9 incident and resisting an officer in the May 17 incident that took place in the 4300 block of Allen School Lane in Bonita.
The victim and a detective testified about the incidents in a preliminary hearing in July.
Sheriff’s deputies came to the house at 10 a.m. to arrest him for an outstanding warrant for the earlier domestic violence incident. Gilbert refused to come out of the house.
The sheriff’s crisis negotiation team, ASTREA, and the Special Enforcement Detail responded and urged him to surrender, which he did around 6 p.m.
As a precaution, Allen Elementary School was placed on lockdown, and students were dismissed at the normal time. Allen School Lane was closed during the standoff.
Gilbert remains in the South Bay Detention Facility without bail.
