LOCAL : Gunman Surrenders in Newport

A gunman who barricaded himself inside a Newport Beach hotel room surrendered without incident early this morning after a six-hour standoff with police, authorities said.

The suspect, Joseph Pirreli, was immediately taken to the Orange County Jail and held in connection with a Los Angeles County forgery investigation in Vernon.

Hotel security officials at the Hyatt Newporter, 1107 Jamboree Road, went to Pirreli’s room Wednesday evening after becoming concerned over his ability to pay for the room he had rented since Jan. 29, Newport Beach Police Sgt. Andy Gonis said. After noticing that the 42-year-old man had a gun, security officials called police, Gonis said.

When police arrived they saw Pirreli standing on his balcony holding a gun, Gonis said. Several rooms of the hotel were evacuated and SWAT teams were called to the scene.

Pirreli told police negotiators that he was “distraught over his financial situation” and “indicated that he may want to kill himself,” the sergeant said. The standoff ended when Pirreli surrendered at 2:50 a.m.