A 39-year-old Livermore man caused a stir at Motel 6 over there early Wednesday after another motel guest saw him hurl a tiny chihuahua off a second-story balcony. The dog landed on its feet and was unharmed, but the incident sparked an altercation between the witness and the culprit, who turned out to have a recent arrest under his belt for child endangerment and assault.

The cops figured this out when they arrived on the scene and the suspect, Michael Hamby, tried to flee. They'd arrested him on April 27, also on an additional charge of possession of an illegal firearm, and because of this violent past the SWAT team was called in.

And did we mention Hamby had also knocked on the door of the guest who yelled at him about the dog and allegedly pointed a gun in his face? Yeah, swell guy.

The tactical unit surrounded the hotel and evacuated it, eventually bursting into Hamby's room to find that he'd escaped. But they quickly found him nearby and arrested him around 7 a.m. Wednesday on suspicion of felony animal cruelty. He may not be held for long, however, as the motel guest did not want to cooperate with any prosecution. And Hamby's gun still hasn't been found.

[SF Gate]