Avena pulled shotgun on sister, police say

The 21-year-old man, who on Friday held an 11-hour standoff with authorities at a house in the Alterra subdivision, is suspected of pulling a shotgun on his 15-year-old sister, police said Monday.

Kel Avena was being held Monday at the Pinal County Jail, where he faces charges of aggravated assault and domestic violence. The girl was not injured.

“Any assault by an adult on a juvenile is automatically aggravated assault,” said Officer Ricardo Alvarado, spokesman for the Maricopa Police Department.

Alvarado said Avena’s mother left for work Friday morning, and while at work got a call from the girl, who said she was being threatened by her older brother.

The mother came home, called police and removed the shotgun and a sword from the house before she and the daughter left the home, he said. The three lived in the house.

Avena barricaded himself in the house on Rhea Street, refusing to come out.