Amtrak Delayed After Transient Barricaded in Engine Room

Pacific Surfliner (courtesy)

By the San Luis Obispo Police Department

DATE AND TIME OF INCIDENT: Tuesday, June 13, 2023, at 5:30 am
SUSPECT: Jorge Cardenas Soto, age 42, transient  

On Tuesday morning, at approximately 5:30 am, San Luis Obispo Police Department received a report of a male who had accessed the maintenance yard at the Amtrak Station at 1011 Railroad Ave. When patrol officers arrived, train station employees informed responding officers that the male had climbed into the engine bay of a locomotive and barricade himself there. 

Two SLOPD Crisis Negotiators responded and began to talk with Cardenas Soto and it became apparent that he was in mental health crisis. After two hours, the negotiators were able to convince him to come out of the train where he was safely taken into custody. He did not have any weapons and no train passengers or staff were harmed during the incident. Cardenas Soto was booked into the SLO County Jail for the following charges: 

  • PC 602.8 (a) – Trespassing  
  • PC 148 – Obstructing a peace officer in performance of duties 
  • PC 369i(a) – Delaying a train 

While at SLO County Jail, Cardenas Soto will be provided a mental health evaluation and appropriate follow-up services.  

 

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  1. If, as written, it was apparent he was having a mental health crisis, why on earth did they charge this man for what was a nonviolent cry for help instead of sending him to inpatient care? A jail mental health checkup is a joke. Our world is so backward.
    I also question the motive behind describing this man as a transient. How is that relevant?
    Do better, SLOPD.

  2. Don’t they often say where the person is from, like “John Doe, of Bakersfield”? If so, “transient” stands in for a specific hometown. If he’d been from Florida the headline would be “Florida man barricades self in engine room.”

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