A man who shot at, and injured, police officer’s in a hostage standoff last week has been formally charged with multiple counts of attempted murder of a police officer, kidnapping and child abuse.

In total, the man is being charged with 26 felony counts and include the attempted murder of police officers, assault on a police officer with a semiautomatic firearm, kidnapping, child abuse, false imprisonment, possession of a firearm by a felon and making criminal threats.  If convicted at trial, this man faces up to life in prison.

Allegedly, Mr. Warsaw, the suspect in this case, took his girlfriend and her child hostage for nearly eight hours.  Mr. Warsaw was allegedly seen dragging a screaming woman by her hair outside of a residence.  When police officers arrived to the location, shots were fired from inside a room at the house.  An Inglewood Police officer was shot once in the chest but was saved by the bulletproof vest.

Ultimately Warsaw was taken into custody and booked into jail on these charges.

Shooting a gun at a police officer might be one of the worst things to do if you are being confronted by law enforcement.  Not only are you risking being shot at, you are looking at potential attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon charges, and these are some of the serious charges around.

The best thing to do if contacted by law enforcement is to cooperate fully, exercise your right to remain silent, and request to speak to your attorney before being questioned. Too many times do I see statements made to law enforcement with the hopes that people can “talk their way out of the situation.”  I’ve yet to see someone successfully do so.

If you have been charged with assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, child abuse, false imprisonment, possession of a firearm or making criminal threats, contact attorney Ross Erlich as soon as possible and definitely before you make any statements to the authorities.  Remember that the first call you make to Attorney Ross Erlich will likely be the smartest call you will ever make.