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Police Apprehend Man Who Barricaded Himself In Car

Tribune photo by MICHAEL SPOONEYBARGER

The Tampa Police Tactical Response Team negotiates with a man who barricaded himself in a car outside a 24-hour laundromat.

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By RAY REYES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 1, 2008

Updated: 07/01/2008 09:18 pm

TAMPA - Wracked with guilt over the death of two family members a year ago, Wallace Ecenia Jr. armed himself this afternoon with a .380 semi-automatic handgun, locked himself in a car and told relatives he wanted to die, police said.

After five hours of being barricaded in a sedan parked in the back of a Laundromat owned by his family on North Armenia Avenue, police negotiators were able to take Ecenia into custody without harm to himself or others.

Ecenia, 48, was taken to a mental hospital under the terms of the state's Baker Act, Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said.

The standoff began about 1 p.m., when a relative of Ecenia's called the police's non-emergency line saying that there was concern for Ecenia's mental state and that "he may be a danger to himself," McElroy said.

Officers responded to Discount Laundry & Dry Cleaning at 6007 N. Armenia Ave. and found Ecenia with a handgun sitting in the passenger seat of a non-air-conditioned four-door sedan.

Police called in the Tactical Response Team and locked down four blocks of North Armenia Avenue, from West Henry Avenue to West Burke Street. Some business owners nearby were told to close and go home. Residents who live in the area were prevented by police from returning to their houses or apartments until the situation was resolved.

Police took Ecenia into custody about 6:20 p.m. Negotiators were giving him water in an act of goodwill. Ecenia was partially outside of his vehicle after taking some water from the officers, but before he could get back in the vehicle and close the door, officers moved in and wrestled Ecenia to the ground, McElroy said.

Ecenia barricaded himself in the car because of a "family tragedy" last July, McElroy said.

Ecenia's home at 8601 Twin Lakes Blvd. caught fire July 8, killing his mother, Juanita, 77, and sister, Michelle, 53. Ecenia escaped by breaking his bedroom window, according to a July 9 Tampa Tribune story.

The fire started because Ecenia fell asleep with a lit cigarette, McElroy said. As the anniversary of the deaths approached, he began to get more desperate, she said.

"He has just been consumed with guilt," McElroy said.

His uncle, Paul Ecenia, said that his nephew's sudden actions today took the family by surprise.

"We didn't expect this to happen," Paul Ecenia said.

His nephew showed no signs of depression since the fire last year, he said.

Ecenia's father, Wallace Ecenia Sr., and Paul Ecenia operated a family-run business, Allied Fencing Co.

In the 1990s, Wallace Ecenia Sr. and his wife turned their passion for gem collecting into a business, Wally's Natural Wonders, a rock and gem shop near the 24-hour laundry.

News Channel 8's Lynn Carson, Shannon Joyner and Nadira Kharmai contributed to this report. Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 259-7920 or rreyes@tampatrib.com.

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