A 25-year-old Santee man is behind bars after deputies say he choked his adult brother during a fight, then barricaded himself inside his bedroom for nearly six hours while a SWAT team surrounded the house. Chance Eckert was eventually taken into custody without incident at about 1:30 AM yesterday, ending a standoff that had emptied a quiet residential block near Padre Dam Park of several of his own family members.
According to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office, deputies from the Santee Sheriff's Station, assisted by the neighboring Lakeside Sheriff's Substation, arrived shortly after 7:30 PM Wednesday to investigate a reported assault at a home in the 11000 block of Collinwood Drive. As reported by 10News, Eckert allegedly attacked his brother at the residence, choking him for 30 to 45 seconds before the victim broke free.
The confrontation quickly escalated once deputies arrived. Per 10News, Eckert ignored repeated orders to surrender peacefully, according to Sgt. Jack Reed, prompting the Sheriff's Office to call in its Special Enforcement Detail, the county's primary SWAT unit for unincorporated areas and contract cities like Santee. Deputies attempted to reach Eckert by bullhorn and cellphone as the standoff dragged on, the outlet reported.
SWAT Moves In After Hours of Silence
The tactical team was dispatched to a neighborhood east of State Route 67 and south of Mast Boulevard, and deputies evacuated several family members from the residence safely before making entry. Sheriff's officials say the Special Enforcement Detail obtained a search warrant before making contact with Eckert, who deputies found hiding in his bedroom. The standoff lasted nearly six hours in total before he was taken into custody without incident.
During the search, deputies found eight rifles hidden throughout the home, according to sheriff's officials. The 10News report notes that Eckert had access to guns inside the residence, though it remains unclear from available information whether any of the seized rifles were illegally owned or modified. Eckert was booked into San Diego Central Jail, the county's downtown intake hub for adult male felony arrestees, on suspicion of felony assault. Attempts to contact Eckert for comment were unsuccessful, per the outlet's reporting.
What Felony Assault Charges Could Mean
Under California Penal Code § 245(a)(4), assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury is a “wobbler” offense, meaning prosecutors can file it as a felony punishable by two, three, or four years in state prison, or as a misdemeanor carrying up to a year in county jail and fines as high as $10,000, according to FindLaw. Whether prosecutors pursue felony charges or additional firearm enhancements against Eckert has not yet been determined.
The choking allegation itself carries particular weight under state law. California enacted Senate Bill 40 in 2018, which requires officers responding to domestic violence calls involving strangulation to warn victims about delayed internal injuries, advise them to seek medical care, and formally track strangulation in crime reports, per LegiScan. Research published by PubMed Central has found that non-fatal strangulation in domestic altercations is linked to a more than seven-fold increase in the odds of a later homicide attempt, a factor that can leave severe internal damage without visible bruising.
Santee's Contracted Police Force Responds
Santee does not run its own police department; instead, the city contracts with the San Diego County Sheriff's Office, whose local Santee Station employs more than 60 staff members covering a population of over 58,000 across 16 square miles, per the Sheriff's Office's own facility records. The Santee City Council unanimously renewed a five-year contract with the Sheriff's Office in April 2022, extending public safety and specialized SWAT coverage through July 2027, according to Patch.
The case also unfolded amid a busy stretch for the department's tactical unit. Just a day earlier, on August 4, deputies were called to a separate SWAT standoff in Vista, where a 64-year-old man was arrested after an hour-long barricade involving weapon threats, according to OnScene.TV. The condition of Eckert's brother following the alleged assault has not been disclosed.
