Lone woman responsible for Friday’s stand-off in Palm Springs

A 27-year-old woman suspected of breaking into a Palm Springs residence while armed with a gun was behind bars today.

Renee Diane Alway of Palm Springs was arrested shortly before 2:30 p.m. Friday, after someone reported a “suspicious female” in the area and arriving officers found an open back door at a residence in the 600 block of Violeta Drive, Palm Springs police Sgt. Harvey Reed said.

“Officers were informed that the residents were out of the country and that the property should be vacant,” Reed said, but discovered Alway hiding in the garage with a gun, Reed said.

He said officers previously thought an armed man was in the residence, and Palm Springs and Cathedral City police sent SWAT officers. Later that night, after the residence was searched, authorities concluded no one else was inside, Reed said.

Alway was being held at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning in lieu of $150,000 bail, according to jail records.