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Not a good night on the town

 

Demon rum, or some equally volatile distillate, may have been at the root of a fracas that landed a 38-year-old Sonoma man in jail July 23, after he came home from a Plaza watering hole and got into a physical dispute with his wife over family finances before assaulting a next-door neighbor.

The incident was reported to police at 11:23 p.m. after the man pushed his wife onto a bed, then went outside where he shifted his anger to a neighbor. The two men fought, police arrived, found the assailant with bruises and abrasions on his face, elbows and knees, and then questioned the wife about the incident.

The man's wife, 30, said her husband often drank at the Plaza bar and came home drunk. She bore bruises from an assault she said had occurred on July 16. While neither the wife nor the neighbor wanted to press charges, police were obligated to arrest the husband due to the evidence of earlier injuries and the protocols for resolving domestic assault situations.

The husband was taken to the Sonoma Valley Hospital for treatment of his injuries and then booked into the county jail, charged with domestic violence.

In other incidents reported to local law enforcement:

Friday, July 22:

10:10 a.m. - Hot-dog alert: Police received a report about a break-in at the Arnold Field snack shack where someone used bolt cutters to force entry and carted off four or five ice cream bars, half a dozen hot dogs and buns, $1.50 in change and possibly a few hats.

Citizens are advised to be on the look-out for a suspect devouring hot dogs and ice cream bars while wearing one or more incongruous hats.

10:49 a.m. - Dude, where's my laptop? A West Spain Street resident reported to police that a live-in boyfriend had recently moved out, possibly taking with him her two-year-old Toshiba laptop computer. Whereabouts of the ex-boyfriend were unknown and the missing laptop suggested reconciliation was unlikely.

4:23 p.m. - A patient with pot. Police investigated a report of drug possession at a Broadway rehabilitation center and discovered the case involved a 32-year-old quadriplegic. A nursing assistant told officers there was an odor of marijuana in the room and that the patient did not have a medical marijuana card. Asked about the marijuana, the patient said it made him feel good. Visiting friends, he said, provided the pot and helped him smoke it. Police declined to cite the patient.

4:31 p.m. - Stolen I.D. Police took a fraud report from a Sonoma man who said he had received a letter from an online bank telling him that his name, date of birth, address and phone number had been used in an attempt to purchase $3,750 worth of products. The online purchase was denied and the victim said he had no idea how his personal information was obtained.

10:47 p.m. - One wrong turn deserves another? A 44-year-old Los Angeles woman made the oft-committed illegal left-hand turn from First Street West onto West Napa Street, and a strategically parked police officer witnessed the infraction. He pulled the gray Lexus over on East Napa, noted the usual indicators of intoxication and conducted field sobriety tests and a preliminary breath analysis. With an indicated blood alcohol level of .083 and .09, the woman was cited for DUI and released to a sober party.

Sunday, July 24:

1:41 a.m. - Wanderlust. A Sonoma Valley deputy watched a green Acura Legend wander back and forth across the double-yellow line on Highway 12 and made a traffic stop at Encinas Lane. The 24-year-old driver was exhaling alcohol fumes, blew a .11 on the preliminary breath test, was cited for DUI and released to the custody of an uncle.

Monday, July 25:

11:45 a.m. - More stolen ID. A 65-year-old Temelec resident told police she left her black leather purse at the Safeway market and believes it had been stolen. The purse contained her driver's license and credit cards, which she immediately cancelled.

11:55 a.m. - And yet more. A Curtin Lane resident told police he discovered $1,011.46 worth of fraudulent charges on his ATM card and had no idea how the card number was compromised.

1:03 p.m. - But I don't live in Miami. Another credit card fraud victim came to the police station to report that a credit card number had been used without permission to purchase $234.97 of goods from the Hampers Jean Wear Center in Canada. The goods were shipped to a woman in Miami, Fla.

Tuesday, July 26:

9:58 a.m. - Stealing tools. Sometime overnight, someone cut the lock on a small storage box at a construction site in the 1600 block of Lovall Valley Road and stole several small tools. The loss was estimated at $650.

4:11 p.m. - Bad choice of shoes. Police apprehended a 45-year-old transient who had just pilfered a pair of shoes from a sidewalk sale table on Broadway. The store's proprietor witnessed the thievery and recovered the shoes, but did not want to press charges. The suspect, who was located in the alley behind the Sebastiani Theatre, happened to be on probation, however, and stealing shoes - even on-sale shoes from a sidewalk table - was clearly a violation of probation. So he was charged and booked into the county jail.

6:49 p.m. - This Bud's for you. A 19-year-old was found in possession of a can of Budweiser on the bike path by a police officer who cited him for being a minor in possession of alcohol, but not for questionable taste.

9:04 p.m. - Erroneous and unfair. A Sonoma man was attempting to retrieve some personal property from a home on Paseo Palencia when police intervened because there was a restraining order in place forbidding him contact with the home. The man was also on probation and had not showed up for meetings with his probation officer. A waiting taxi was parked near the home. The 59-year-old told the officer the violation was erroneous and unfair. The taxi-driver told police the man had no money and was attempting to pay his fare with a check, which the driver would not accept. The cabbie wanted to press charges for defrauding him and police took the man into custody for violating a court order and a probation violation.