"Police robot" arrests a man in Texas

Police in Lubbock, Texas, used a robot to arrest a suspect who had barricaded himself in a local hotel room after they and special forces spent two hours unsuccessfully trying to get him to surrender.

Felix Delarosa, 39, was charged with assault on a public servant after a standoff with SWAT that lasted nearly two hours, KCBD reports.

Members of the Texas Anti-Gang Task Force (TAG) found Delarosa at the Lubbock Days Inn, where he had locked himself in a room.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said a warrant had been issued for his arrest because he violated his bail by trying to disable the walking devices.

In 2017, Delarosa was sentenced to 20 years in prison for manufacturing and distributing illegal substances, according to the department. He was released from prison on parole in April 2022.

When members of the TAG unit learned that Delarosa was staying at the hotel, they attempted to contact him.

As they later told local media, officers heard him shooting from the room, so they called in a special team from the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office to help them.

Delarosa fired another shot as SWAT negotiators tried to make contact with him, authorities said. Negotiators continued to call Delarosa, trying to get him to surrender peacefully, but he, they allege, fired more shots, one of which directly at police officers.

The sniper then fired a bullet and hit Delarosan, who was seen through a bedroom window talking on the phone. He also briefly walked through the door, waving a Bible at them.

Police then brought in a robot from the regional bomb squad in Lubbock.

When the robot arrived outside the room, Delarosa took what appeared to be a sheet and threw it over the robot to prevent it from firing tear gas into the room.

The robot kept moving towards the broken window and Delarosa tried to push it away.

The robot operator successfully shook off the sheet and fired the tear gas into Delarosa's room.

After a few minutes, Delarosa climbed out of the broken window. The robot operator then steered the machine towards the suspect and pinned him to the ground.

This allowed SWAT to approach and arrest Delarosa. Local reporters say officers were transporting the suspect from the second floor to the parking lot where an ambulance was waiting.

He was taken to University Medical Center for his injuries and then to the Lubbock County Detention Center.

The Texas Rangers opened an investigation and one of the officers who responded to the shooting was placed on paid leave, according to department rules. /Telegraph/