SHOTS FIRED AS SWAT TEAM SERVES WARRANT

DELHI -- Thirty-two gunshots were fired by suspects and sheriff's deputies
when a Merced County Sheriff's Department Special Weapons and Tactics team
served a narcotics search warrant in the 11000 block of Merced Avenue
before sunrise Wednesday.

Three shots were fired at deputies as they entered a structure on the
property, officers said. The leader of the SWAT team fired 29 rounds in
return. No one was hit.

Arrested at the scene were Trinidad Ruesga, 29, for investigation of
possession of 10 pounds of marijuana, and his brother, Oscar Ruesga, 22,
who was booked for investigation of attempted murder of a peace officer.

Oscar Ruesga is being held on a $1 million bond.

The brothers were booked into Merced County Jail at about 11:30 a.m. Later
Wednesday, Trinidad Ruesga posted bail.

The incident began shortly after 3 a.m. Wednesday. Sheriff's deputies and
the SWAT team arrived at 11243 Merced Ave., on the outskirts of Delhi, with
a warrant to search for narcotics.

According to deputy Jack Kelly, the SWAT team accompanied deputies because
past calls at the address had involved weapons.

After knocking on the door at the main residence, SWAT team members forced
their way inside, where they found an elderly man asleep, deputies said.
They then moved to a smaller building at the back of the property.

When the SWAT team broke down the door, someone inside fired three shots
from a high-caliber semiautomatic handgun, Kelly said.

He said the lead SWAT officer fired 29 rounds into the room.

Besides the two brothers, deputies found a young woman and her 3-year-old
daughter. Ten pounds of marijuana, along with a small amount of hashish,
was found in another room, authorities said.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski