A five-hour stand-off in the Desert Heights area of Twentynine Palms ended in a surrender and arrest Tuesday (May 18). According to the Sheriff’s Department, the owner of a property in the 800 block of Friendship Avenue asked deputies to check on his property, as the electric bill was higher than usual. At the home, deputies contacted Clay Aho, 32, of Toulumne, a woman, and a small child. Deputies determined that the home had been burglarized and that Aho, the woman, and child were living in the home without permission from the property owner. When deputies asked the people to leave, the woman and child left the home, but Aho—who had three felony warrants for his arrest—refused. A Sheriff’s helicopter and members of the Specialized Enforcement Division (SWAT) responded to the scene. After five hours of stand-off, deputies deployed less-lethal munitions into the home, and Aho finally surrendered. Clay Aho was arrested for his warrants of being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance, and a probation violation. He was booked into the Morongo Basin Jail with his bail set at $130,000.
