Sonoma police beat: Stolen Champagne leads to unhappy holiday

Among the incidents recently reported to Sonoma Valley law enforcement:

Dec. 23: As a Sonoma officer drove northbound Highway 12 near West Spain Street on Sunday, he saw a Toyota RAV 4 drifting to the right over the center line, police officials said. The deputy monitored the vehicle and the driver kept swerving over the line, so the deputy did a traffic stop.

The driver of the car spoke with slurred speech, had red eyes and reeked of alcohol, according to police officials. She did poorly on a field sobriety test, and then submitted to a blood test, police officials said. Based on observation and the result of the sobriety test, Paige Elizabeth Giomi, 22, of Rohnert Park, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Dec. 24: In a sad note on Christmas Eve Day, a man called and reported items stolen from his car around 1 a.m. in the vicinity of Fourth Street and Haraszthy Drive in Sonoma. The caller had accidentally left the car unlocked and a laptop worth around $2,500, an iPad worth around $600 and $130 in cash were taken from the car, police officials said.

Police got another call in roughly the same time frame regarding a theft on Montini Way in Sonoma. A man told officers he was in his kitchen and heard his car doors opening, then saw three men walking away. When he checked his car, he found a bottle of Gloria Ferrer Champagne missing. (Only in the Sonoma Valley would officers be wine-savvy enough to note the brand.)

Officers found fingerprints on the car, then began canvassing the neighborhood to see if other cars had been hit by theft. They found that some cars had been ransacked, but nothing taken. Around 2:25 a.m., a deputy stopped a silver Kia that lacked a rear license plate lamp in the area and found the Champagne bottle in the car, police officials said.

The car’s driver told the officers he had driven two other men to Sonoma and the others dropped the bottle in his car, according to police officials.

Kenneth Palma, 18, of Vallejo, was arrested on suspicion of being a minor in possession of alcohol and on suspicion of misdemeanor possession of stolen property.

Reach Janis Mara at janis.mara@sonomanews.com.