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Angry came the stranger - and said he'll be back

An El Verano resident told Sheriff's deputies he was lying on a couch in his living room at about 10:50 p.m. on June 25, when a strange man burst through the screen door and began beating him on the head while shouting the name of his brother. The victim yelled at the assaulting stranger, "You have the wrong guy, you have the wrong guy."

The assailant then stopped, said, "Oh. I'll be back," and ran off into the night.

The victim, who had bruises on his forehead and blood on his lips, described the mystery man as a white male, 5'-8" to 5'-10" tall, with a short-trimmed beard, black hair, wearing a multi-colored knit cap, a blue hoodie and jeans. The victim refused medical attention.

Thursday, June 23:

8:42 p.m. - Stolen gun? Go to jail. The other shoe dropped in a case that began June 19 with the arrest of two men charged with carrying a concealed weapon when they were stopped on Agua Caliente Road after they tossed a gun out the window. A Sheriff's deputy, who managed to retrieve the weapon, traced it to the original owner in Lake County who confirmed the gun was hi. He told the deputy the .22 caliber revolver was one of several firearms taken from a gun case in his home on Jan. 3. The two men - Omar Maciel, 26, and Eustakio Mendoza, 19, both of Boyes Hot Springs - were charged with felonies for receiving a known stolen gun.

Saturday, June 25:

11:20 p.m. - Three really big beers? A Sheriff's deputy driving westbound on Verano Avenue spotted a black, 1992 Honda Accord headed eastbound with no headlights. The deputy changed direction and followed the Honda southbound on Railroad Avenue, where the Honda then accelerated to 40 mph in a 25 zone. The deputy activated lights and siren, the Honda's headlights then came on and the car pulled over, after which the driver stumbled out the door toward the deputy. Detecting the odor of alcohol, the deputy asked the man how much he had had to drink. "Three beers," the man replied. A preliminary breath test suggested otherwise when the driver blew a .222. He also, it turned out, was driving on a suspended license from a previous DUI. He was charged with DUI, driving on a suspended license and probation violation and was escorted to the county jail.

Sunday, June 26:

8:32 a.m. - Bad parking decision. A guest at the Sonoma Mission Inn told Sheriff's deputies he had parked his Toyota SUV nose-out in a small lot in the 100 block of Boyes Boulevard overnight, with two bicycles locked with a cable to the rear bike rack. In the morning, he found the cable had been cut and both bikes were gone. Missing was a dark green, Santa Cruz 27-speed Blur LT, worth $3,000, and a gray, Specialized Stump Jumper XS valued at $2,400.

Friday, July 1:

8:34 p.m. - Headed down the wrong road. While on foot patrol at El Verano Elementary School on Riverside Drive, a Sheriff's deputy spotted several juveniles on the basketball court at about the same time the juveniles spotted the deputy. The juveniles took flight, leaving behind their beer and a cloud of marijuana smoke.

Later that evening the deputy ran into the same juveniles in the vicinity of Riverside Drive and Baxter Avenue. One of them had a cigarette behind his ear, and that gave the deputy probable cause to conduct a search. A 17-year-old, the deputy discovered, had a small amount - less than five grams - of marijuana, and less than one-tenth of a gram of methamphetamine. The Springs resident was charged with felony possession of methamphetamine, possession of less than one ounce of marijuana and being a minor in possession of tobacco. The youthful offender received a ride to juvenile hall.

Sunday, July 3:

11:05 a.m. - Smile, you're on Cop Camera. A resident in the 18000 block of Greger Avenue reported that someone had stolen her debit card and used it to withdraw $100 from an ATM at a local convenience store. Sheriff's deputies went to the convenience store and, while looking through the surveillance video, were able to identify a suspect whom they subsequently arrested. Andrew Ostram, 28, of Los Molinos (Tehama County) was charged with felony burglary, felony theft of an access card, felony fraudulent use of an access card, possession of a hypodermic or syringe and possession of drug paraphernalia. Ostram was booked into county jail.