By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com
Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness said today that the responsibility for last week's standoff ultimately lies with suspect Anthony Alvarez, and not with San Francisco police, who had identified Alvarez as a homicide suspect in April but who reportedly could not link him to the crime with blood evidence because of an overburdened crime lab.
McGinness called a news conference this afternoon to respond to a San Francisco Chronicle article reporting that blood collected at the scene of an April 8 homicide in Noe Valley had not yet been analyzed quickly because of a backlog of evidence waiting to be tested at the crime lab.
Had that blood been tested quicker and linked to a DNA sample Alvarez submitted after a drug arrest in 2008, Alvarez likely would have been in custody before last week's standoff, the story suggests.
But McGinness said the argument that the standoff could have been prevented by quicker work at the crime lab is "invalid" and pointed out that the showdown occurred as police tried to take Alvarez into custody in Sacramento. There is no guarantee a similar situation would have unfolded had San Francisco police tried to arrest Alvarez sooner, McGinness said.
"I harbor no animosity toward the San Francisco Police Department," he said. "I understand what they're working with in terms of caseloads."
The sheriff went on to say that "the blame for Mr. Alvarez's behavior ... is his and his alone."
Alvarez, who on Thursday turned 26 holed up in an Arden Way apartment with his cousin's 16-month-old son held hostage, was shot and killed by sheriff's SWAT members Friday night, ending a 56-hour standoff with authorities. The toddler was not harmed.
The standoff began Wednesday morning, when Sacramento County sheriff's deputies went to the Arden Way apartments with Concord police to arrest Alvarez on suspicion of committing three armed robberies in the Bay Area and shooting at a Concord police officer.
He also was a suspect in the San Francisco homicide, authorities said.
When Alvarez saw police, he grabbed his cousin's toddler and retreated inside the apartment. Another child, the 4-year-old of Alvarez's cousin, was safely rescued by sheriff's deputies through a window.
The Chronicle also reported that Alvarez admitted to the homicide while speaking with negotiators during the standoff, but McGinness said that did not happen. He attributed the mistake to a miscommunication between the newspaper and San Francisco police.
Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.
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