By Carlos Alcalá
calcala@sacbee.com
The Sacramento County Sheriff's deputy who carried a 16-month-old boy out of a dramatic hostage situation that ended Friday evening spoke briefly with media this afternoon.
Deputy Orrlando Mayes said little Michael Pittman Jr. did not cry when another deputy snatched him out of the apartment where a mentally disturbed cousin had been holding him hostage for more than 55 hours. He didn't fuss when he was handed off to Mayes, who was clad in a camouflage SWAT uniform and helmet.
It wasn't until the toddler was taken to UC Davis Medical Center for an examination that he began to cry, Mayes told reporters.
Deputies ended the standoff with Anthony Alvarez Friday evening when they blew holes in the wall of the Arden Way apartment where he'd been holed up with the boy. Alvarez was left dead in the apartment after a volley of gunfire with deputies.
Mayes said he would have expected the toddler to be more upset.
Neither Mayes nor Sheriff John McGinness would provide additional detail about how the standoff ended Friday night, saying that the incident still is under investigation;
McGinness did confirm that Alvarez is a suspect in a San Francisco homicide. Alvarez also is suspected in three armed bank robberies in Contra Costa County and allegedly shot at a Contra Costa police officer who pulled him over during a traffic stop there last week.
Mayes, an 18-year veteran of the sheriff's department, said the suspect had shot at him at different times during the standoff.
Call The Bee's Carlos Alcalá, (916) 321-1987.
Top photo: Sacramento County Sheriff's deputy Orrlando Mayes holds 16-month-old Michael Pittman Jr. as a standoff in an Arden-area apartment ends Friday evening. Photo by Andy Alfaro.
Bottom photo: Orrlando Mayes, foreground, is introduced by Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness during a news conference on Saturday.
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