WeHo Resident Recalls Tense 10-Hour Armed Standoff In His Home

WEST HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA.com) — It looked like a war zone on a block in West Hollywood Saturday night.

That's when a crazed man took over an apartment and refused to come out.

Police were worried he was armed -- evacuations were ordered and the siege lasted for 10 hours.

For John Finck it was an eternity. It was his home where the guy was holed up.

"I tried to open the door and found that it had been double bolted," Finck said.

Finck was at dinner with friends. When he came home he discovered someone broke in and locked themselves inside his apartment with his beloved animals.

"I could see my little dog trapped in here with my cat. I couldn't see him but I could see her running back in forth in front of the window, panicked," Finck said.

Police were called and the hours-long standoff would ensue. For hours Finck didn't know what was going on inside his home. At one point the guy finally opened the door and Finck's dog ran to safety.

"One neighbor who had just woken up to this and didn't know what was going on – and God bless him – he ran out...put her in his car and she sat there for another five hours," said Finck.

Police used tear gas to flush the guy out. He was finally arrested.

When Finck got back inside his place it was completely trashed by the suspect.

"All the colognes and shampoos. All the things with lids and caps got stuffed in drains. Everything that had batteries – they were removed – and things were moved from one room to another with no logic. Meth psychosis," said Finck.

Finck is now cleaning up – and just relieved no one was hurt.

"I just really want to give some credit to neighbors and friends," Finck said. "Without them I wouldn't be able to step up and handle anything."