Police: 4 people make off with dozens of bottles of liquor from Sonoma supermarket

Grand theft

Three women and a man allegedly stole dozens of bottles of liquor from Lucky Supermarket, in the Maxwell Village Shopping Center, at 7:50 p.m. March 12, according to Sonoma Police Sgt. Scott McKinnon.

The store manager called Sonoma Police after the suspects left the store without paying but carrying bags that clinked, McKinnon said.

The store manager followed the suspects out to their vehicles; the female suspects entered a black Ford sedan and the male suspect entered a Honda, McKinnon said. The store manager estimated the loss of the liquor to be $400.

Sonoma Police are waiting for video surveillance from the store to review as part of an investigation.

Battery

On March 12 at 5:48 p.m., Sonoma Police responded to an alleged battery in the 800 block of Napa Street West when two men allegedly “jumped” a Sonoma man, McKinnon said.

The victim told police he was leaving the Homeless Action Sonoma-run warming center located on Napa Street with his girlfriend when two men assaulted him. The man told police he tried hopping over a fence to get away before he was pulled down to the ground and kicked several times.

Sonoma Police interviewed HAS staff, but they could not confirm the incident. Sonoma Police also contacted the alleged suspects, both of whom had alibis for the incident, McKinnon said. However, the victim had injuries consistent with the story he told police.

Deputies took statements from all those involved, including staff from HAS, and are writing a report for the District Attorney’s Office for review.

Drunk in public

Sonoma Police responded to a man who was allegedly drunk in public at 12:36 a.m. March 11 after the man began causing a disturbance inside a First Street West bar, McKinnon said.

The male suspect was heavily intoxicated and refused to leave the bar when he was cut off, McKinnon said. The man became verbally aggressive with staff and other bar patrons, and staff were worried he would start a fight.

When police arrived at the scene, the man was sitting on a bench outside the bar and continued to be verbally aggressive with officers. The man struggled to produce identification for officers and was unstable standing on his own, McKinnon said.

Based on their observations, Sonoma Police arrested the man on suspicion of public intoxication, a misdemeanor.

Fraud

Sonoma Police received a report of an alleged fraudulent purchase of a 2022 Gray Toyota Tacoma from the Chevy Silveira car dealership in the 600 block of West Napa Street on March 10, McKinnon said.

Sonoma Police deputies went to the dealership and spoke with the manager who said a person who claimed to be the victim had purchased the truck for $51,898 and financed the purchase through Redwood Credit Union.

“The suspect provided false documentation throughout the process, including a license, PG&E bill, GEICO Insurance bill that was all discovered later to be fraudulent,” McKinnon said.

The victim said he lived in Texas and never purchased the vehicle from the dealership.

The truck was delivered to a San Francisco address March 3, and San Francisco police made an attempt to contact the property owner of the same address to no avail.

Sonoma Police put the vehicle information into their stolen vehicle database. Deputies are still conducting follow up on this case to try to identify who lives at the San Francisco address.

Vandalism

McCaulou's, the department store in the 200 block of West Napa Street, was vandalized overnight March 8 when a person threw rocks through the strore’s front windows, McKinnon said.

The person did not enter the building and nothing was stolen from the store. Police are reviewing video footage from a nearby Whole Foods surveillance camera as part of their investigation.

Contact Chase Hunter at chase.hunter@sonomanews.com and follow @Chase_HunterB on Twitter.