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Bo Peep is looking for her sheep

It was a little early to be herding sheep and Little Bo Peep was nowhere in sight when a Petaluma police officer pulled over a vehicle and trailer in what appeared to be a routine traffic stop at 5 a.m. on Sept. 16. The trailer, as it turned out, contained 20 sheep, but none of them had been reported missing or lost, so the driver was allowed to continue on his merry way. It wasn't until some 90 minutes later that the owner of the flock reported them missing from a farm on Watmaugh Road, but by then the sheep and trailer were long gone.

Deputies from the Sheriff's Valley substation found a makeshift corral that was used to herd the sheep into the trailer, and thanks to the timely traffic stop by the Petaluma police officer, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office was able to identify a suspect. At presstime, however, the matter is still under investigation. The sheep were valued at $5,000 to $6,000.

In other incidents reported to Valley law enforcement:

Tuesday, Sept. 13:

4:05 a.m. - Someone call the president. Sheriff's deputies were called to a disturbance in the 300 block of Verano Avenue where they found a man screaming profanities and generally acting crazy. The man told deputies he "needed to speak to the president." During a search of the suspect's residence, deputies found a small amount of methamphetamine and a pipe commonly used to smoke it. Kevin Watson, 28, didn't get to talk to the president, but he did receive a free trip to the county jail where he was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, being under the influence of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

3:24 p.m. - Got some spare change? A resident in the 5000 block of Warm Springs Road reported that her house had been broken into, ransacked and burglarized. The thief, after breaking a window to make entry, took a large number of coins - estimated at $350.

6:08 p.m. - Roomies on the outs. Deputies responded to a disturbance in the 16000 block of Highway 12 where a pair of former roommates had gotten into a row about one of them owing the other some money. One ex-roomie threw a chair at the other's car, cracking the windshield. A report was sent to the district attorney's office for possible charges.

Wednesday, Sept. 14:

3:56 p.m. - Spare some air? A resident in the 800 block of Madrone Road reported that someone had taken a gas air compressor, a shovel and a rake from an unlocked garage. The loss was set at $250.

6:02 p.m. - Break-in, nothing gone.  A resident in the 4000 block of Grove Street reported that someone broke into a house under construction, but didn't notice anything missing.

Friday, Sept. 16:

1:15 p.m. - Goodbye to six grand. A resident in the 800 block of Los Robles Drive reported that someone took an unlocked $6,000 Specialized road bike from a garage where the door had been left open.

8:17 a.m. - Lock up girlfriend, go to jail. A heated discussion on Sept. 12, between two teens about their relationship, degenerated into a physical confrontation when the 19-year-old male threw his 18-year-old ex-girlfriend on to a bed, swore at her and then would not let her leave the bedroom for three hours, during which time he took away her cell phone and they continued to argue. Finally freed, the girl called her sister who came and picked her up.

Three days later, on Sept. 15, the boyfriend called the victim, then came to her house to talk and she willingly got into his truck. As they drove around, he swore at her again, then punched her in the shoulder and grabbed her by the hair when she tried to get out of the vehicle.

After more arguing, he finally drove the victim home, and at that point she contacted police. Police began looking for the boyfriend, at one point arranged to meet him after work, but he didn't show. Finally, he turned himself in to the Sheriff's Valley substation, where he was arrested for misdemeanor domestic violence and felony false imprisonment. He was booked into the county jail.

6:23 p.m. - One mean little dog. A 75-year-old Sonoma woman, walking her dog along East Napa Street near Maya restaurant, was suddenly bitten on the ankle by a small brown dog, of indeterminate lineage, being walked by a visitor from Southern California. The victim suffered a moderately deep and bloody one-inch wound, and was treated and released at Sonoma Valley Hospital.

Sunday, Sept. 18:

2:03 p.m. - A lock would have been cheaper. Someone got into an unlocked outbuilding in the 20000 block of Broadway and made off with tools and a bike. The loss was estimated at $2,500.

5 p.m. - Wrong year for beer. An 18-year-old female decoy, working as part of a police department sting operation, went into the Easy Stop convenience store in the 900 block of Broadway and successfully purchased a six-pack of Coors Light beer.

The clerk asked for the girl's ID, looked at it and then made the sale. When the decoy exited the store, police charged the clerk with sale of alcohol to a minor. The clerk told police she had read the wrong line on the girl's driver's license and thought she was over 21.

8:37 p.m. - Shoulder tap trap. Two underage decoys, conducting what is called a "shoulder tap operation" stopped a man and a woman outside the Vineyard Market in El Verano and asked if they would buy them a six-pack of beer. The man agreed, went into the market, the woman then followed, and the two bought the beer. Outside police arrested the two for buying alcohol for a minor. The man, who was drinking alcohol out of a paper cup at the time, was additionally charged for drinking in public.

10:22 p.m. - A little friendly beer advice. A friendly 60-year-old man outside the Sonoma Safeway store was the third person snared in a decoy string. The amiable man told a decoy couple he could get in trouble for buying them beer, then sat down on the curb with them and gave them a friendly lecture on quality beer, advising against the cheap suds they asked him to buy. Ultimately the man entered the store, bought the six-pack, then walked around the corner of the store and left the beer in a clump of bushes.

Police, who witnessed the transaction, then arrested the man for buying alcohol for a minor. He was cited and released.