Sonoma Police: Crimes reported in the Valley

Public intoxication

After receiving a report about reckless driving, Sonoma police headed to the intersection of Robinson Road and Itsvan Road on Jan. 23. When they arrived, they found a woman underneath an e-bike in the middle of the road, according to Sonoma Police Sgt. Scott McKinnon.

The woman had slurred speech and struggled to stand, McKinnon said. Deputies helped the woman off the ground, but she refused to give her name. Sonoma police handcuffed the woma, who then became verbally combative with officers and resisted arrest, McKinnon said.

Deputies placed the suspect in the back of the patrol car, but she attempted to climb into the front seat of the police vehicle. Due to the suspect’s level of intoxication and inability to make sound decisions, deputies arrested her for misdemeanor public intoxication and resisting arrest.

Stolen mailbox

A Sonoma resident was without their mail after an unknown subject dressed in black took their mailbox at 10:33 p.m. on Jan. 15 from the 600 block of Seventh Street West, according to McKinnon.

The victim called police on Jan. 19 to report the stolen mailbox, providing officers with surveillance footage of the incident. Footage showed that a suspect walked up to the victim's mailbox, took it off its post and then walked northbound on Seventh Street West, McKinnon said.

The video footage was not high quality, McKinnon said, and police were unable to identify the suspect.

DUI with hit and run

Police responded to a reported hit and run after a driver was rear-ended at a “high rate of speed” at the intersection of Fifth Street West and West Spain Street at 1:50 p.m. on Jan. 19, McKinnon said.

Deputies contacted the victim who described the alleged suspect as driving a white Jeep Cherokee. Deputies spotted a driver matching the description at the 18000 block of Robinson Road, McKinnon said.

Officers brought the victim to Robinson Road who confirmed the police’s suspicions. Deputies contacted the suspect, who denied being involved in the alleged hit and run and asked for her lawyer, McKinnon said.

Deputies noted “recent damage” to the front bender of the Jeep Cherokee and saw it was missing a front license plate. A license plate was found at the intersection of Fifth Street West and West Spain Street. Deputies also noted that the woman appeared to be intoxicated, McKinnon said.

Police initiated a DUI investigation and recorded a blood alcohol level of 0.19 and 0.18 for the driver. Police found the suspect, a 33-year-old Sonoma woman was driving with a suspended license, and charged her with misdemeanor hit and run, driving under the influence and driving without a license.

Sexual battery

A man allegedly groped a woman’s breasts and made an unwanted sexual advance during a work conference at the Lodge at Sonoma at 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 20, McKinnon said.

The woman immediately rebuked the man’s actions and said his advances were highly inappropriate. The man told her that he was “just kidding around,” McKinnon said.

The woman did not seek criminal prosecution at this time, but wanted the incident documented.

Spousal injury

On Jan. 22 at 8:40 p.m., Sonoma Police were again dispatched to the Lodge at Sonoma for a reported a “physical altercation” between two women, McKinnon said.

The women were in a three-year dating relationship and had attended a party that evening at the Lodge. The partners were intoxicated when they began arguing about a previous relationship, McKinnon said.

The suspect allegedly grabbed the victim's phone from her hand and threw it in a nearby bush, and then she grabbed the victim around the throat using both hands in an attempt to strangle her, McKinnon said.

After the incident, the suspect went back to the hotel room while the victim went to the front desk to ask that police be called. Deputies met with the victim in the lobby before going to the room to speak with the suspect.

The suspect said it was a verbal argument and denied any physical altercation. Later, she admitted to throwing the phone.

Deputies told the suspect that the victim alleged physical violence, which the suspect continued to deny. Based on deputies’ investigation and interviews, police arrested the suspect, 31-year-old San Francisco resident Priscilla Burciaga, for felony domestic violence.

Deputies offered the victim resources and a restraining order but she declined.

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