Sonoma police were called to the 7-11 store on West Napa Street a week-and-a-half before Christmas, after an angry intruder was reported behaving aggressively while “hissing” at customers and threatening them.
When officers arrived, they determined that the best way to subdue and corral the suspect would be with a large net and a cage.
A brave officer then confronted the anti-social aggressor and managed to get the net over its body, thereby subduing the large black swan. The red-beaked bird was apparently domesticated because its wings appeared to have been clipped and it couldn’t fly.
There were no injuries reported in the avian encounter and the bird was released to the custody of a rural resident with sufficient secure housing.
No charges were filed and no information was available from what coop the bird had – so to speak – flown.
In other incidents reported to Valley law enforcement:
Sunday, Dec. 8:
1:07 a.m. – Long delays but still booked for DUI. A 67-year old Sonoma Valley attorney spotted making an illegal U-turn on Broadway?was pulled over by Sonoma police who, officers reported, admitted he had consumed some alcohol, denied he was drunk, and subsequently gave “long-winded” and not entirely cooperative answers to questions about his recent consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Asked twice to exit his car, the man recited a litany of prior sports injuries to his ankles and knees, along with a variety of health issues. Finally agreeing to leave the vehicle, the man was unsteady on his feat and was “not successful,” according to the police report, in performing field sobriety tests, even though the tests were modified to accommodate the man’s alleged disabilities, police reported.
Compounding the circumstantial evidence was the presence of an empty cup on the floor of his car that the arresting officer had observed him pouring out the door of his car before the stop.
Additionally he was found to have a 10th bottle of whiskey in his pocket.
Police attempted to administer a blood-alcohol breath test, but the man provided only short, weak, inconsistent breaths, and police reported he appeared to be pretending to blow.
Taken to Sonoma Valley Hospital for a blood test after the breath test failed, the man then refused to allow a blood draw for “fear of contracting HIV.”
Told that he would lose his driver’s license if he did not submit to a blood alcohol test, the attorney nevertheless refused, while making several notes and taking the names of medical staff, preparatory, he said, to filing a lawsuit.
The man was escorted to the County jail where he was booked for DUI.
Thursday, Dec. 19:
10:36 a.m. – $30 ID theft. A Boyes Hot Springs resident discovered that her debit card had been compromised, despite the fact it had never left her possession, and that someone charged $30 on the card at a convenience store in Santa Rosa.
6:08 p.m. – Smash window, threaten wife, go to jail. Deputies were sent to a residence in the 2600 block of Fremont Drive on the report of domestic violence. A husband and wife had been arguing and the argument turned physical when the 39-year-old man broke out a window and threatened his wife with serious bodily harm. The wife fled the residence and deputies arrested the husband on charges of felony making threats and domestic battery and transported him to jail. The deputies also got an emergency protective order for the wife.
10:23 p.m. – DUI and assault twofer. Sonoma Police and Sheriff’s deputies were advised of a suspected drunken driver in Sonoma, with the reporting party following the suspect and giving updated locations from their cellphone.
A deputy pulled the DUI suspect over at Napa Road near Fremont Drive after observing erratic driving. The driver, a 31-year-old Napa resident, was judged to be intoxicated and was taken into custody.
During the stop, the motorist’s wife was visibly distraught and told deputies her husband had physically assaulted her just minutes before they pulled the couple over. In addition to the DUI, therefore, the man was also charged with misdemeanor domestic battery, and was taken to jail. Deputies arranged transportation to get the victim home.
11:10 p.m. – Boy-on-girl battery. Deputies responded to a domestic violence report in the 12000 block of Highway 12 in Glen Ellen, where a 26-year-old man was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery following a report of a physical altercation between him and his girlfriend.
Friday, Dec. 20:
6:08 p.m. – Dialing for domestic battery. Deputies were sent to a residence in the 10 block of Hawthorne Avenue following a report of domestic violence. An argument had turned physical and the female victim tried to call 9-1-1 while the 25-year-old male suspect attempted to take the phone away from her. During the ensuing struggle, the suspect hit the victim in the face. Deputies discovered the suspect was on probation and arrested him on charges of domestic battery, damaging a phone connection and a probation violation. He was booked into the county jail.
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