Retired judge is arrested after allegedly shooting at cops
A retired Los Angeles judge was arrested early Thursday for allegedly shooting at police who responded to a false report of a hostage situation at his townhouse.
The suspect was identified as retired Judge James Bascue, 75, report the Los Angeles Times, City News Service and CBS Los Angeles. He will be booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer.
The Los Angeles Times account says Bascue was the person who called police shortly before midnight on Wednesday and reported armed people inside the home. A dispatcher could not obtain more information because the TV was blaring and Bascue wouldn’t turn it down.
When police arrived, they looked through the window and saw the suspect sitting alone on the couch with two guns. When police tried to contact the judge, he loaded the guns, apparently fired a shot inside the home and then fired at officers, police say. No one was injured.
A neighbor convinced Bascue to turn himself in.
Bascue retired in 2007. He was a prosecutor before becoming a judge, a job he held for 17 years.
