Cathedral City police today arrested a 31-year-old man who sicced a dog on police and armed himself with an semiautomatic rifle before eventually surrendered at the urging of an uncle.
Jacob Lee Mitchell allegedly threatened a neighbor in the 33600 block of Whispering Palms Trail about 3:30 p.m. Friday with a SKS rifle that fires 7.62 mm NATO rounds, Sgt. Corwin de Veas said.
When officers arrived, Mitchell sicced a roughly 80-pound pit bull on them, saying “Get them,” the sergeant said. Apparently, the dog bit no one, and it was not harmed.
Police surrounded the place, and an uncle of Mitchell’s arrived, he said. The uncle persuaded Mitchell and his girlfriend to surrender.
The rifle taken from Mitchell had a 30-round ammunition magazine in it.
“The caliber of the weapon could have easily passed through the wall or door and still injured officers,” de Veas said.
A 7.62 mm NATO round is equivalent to .308-caliber load.
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