SAN ANTONIO – It was an escape attempt taken to new heights.
Raul Ical, 29, climbed a tall tree Tuesday morning in a West Side neighborhood to evade federal agents and state troopers pursuing him, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
A written statement from ICE said Ical, a native of Guatemala, was wanted on warrants related to entering the country illegally.
Authorities said when agents stopped the car he was riding in, he took off running.
Neighbors reported that Ical scaled a ladder, climbed onto a roof, and then onto a tree in a backyard near Ceralvo and South Navidad streets.
Ical remained in the tree for eight hours while law enforcement officers attempted to convince him to come down.
The tree standoff attracted attention from people in the neighborhood.
“I just stayed here looking at all the excitement (wondering) when he was going to come and get down,” said one woman who wanted to remain anonymous. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen anything here around my neighborhood.”
The woman said the commotion began after she left her home to run an errand. When she returned, she said she saw officers everywhere.
What she said surprised her even more, though, was that the standoff was still going on when she went out again and returned home several more times.
“I feel sorry for him,” she said, referring to Ical. “He didn’t want to go back (to Guatemala).”
Mike Howell, meanwhile, arrived at a nearby business in the middle of it all.
“They walked around and didn’t see him and then looked up and went, ‘Oh!’ There he was in the tree,” Howell said. “I got to give it to the guy for climbing a tree really quick. That was pretty good thinking.”
Howell managed to hang around until the situation was resolved at approximately 7 p.m. He said he saw Ical being led away in handcuffs.
“It was an interesting day. That’s all I can say,” Howell said. “I imagine his perch was not that comfortable after about two hours or something. I’d imagine he was getting real sore.”
As of Wednesday, Ical remained in federal custody.
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