Police Beat: Intoxication and arguments in Sonoma, June 21

The Index-Tribune’s crime reports are culled from Sonoma Police reports and do not reflect the guilt or innocence of the arrested.

On June 11 at about 11 p.m., following a Tuesday farmers market, a deputy on patrol in the vicinity of the Plaza was flagged down as he passed Steiner’s Tavern to help contain an arguing couple. A 30-year-old man from American Canyon and his girlfriend, a 38-year-old from Napa, were both determined to be intoxicated and it was difficult to tell who was the suspect and who the victim. The female was demonstratively more belligerent and refused to give the deputy his pen back, and was arrested on public intoxication and obstructing a peace officer; the male was arrested on misdemeanor assault charges.

May 29, a Wednesday, a deputy on patrol noticed a woman carrying two large bags on Sierra Dr. who dropped the bags and began to walk faster when she noticed him. The deputy recognized her from previous contacts, and knew she was on terms of pre-trial release that forbade use or possession of alcohol or drugs. After a test for intoxication and a search, the 22-year-old area resident was arrested and booked on being under the influence of a controlled substance and violation of parole.

On Monday, June 3, the high school’s School Reserve Officer was in a meeting when he heard a report of units being dispatched to 2nd Street East and East Napa because of three high school students fighting. He went to investigate and located two students jumping in front of passing cars in the residential neighborhood. A deputy detained the pair and suspected by their unsteady gait, slurred speech and smell of alcohol that they were intoxicated. Neither girl would cooperate by giving names of parental contacts; one of the girls started crying and blaming the other, and an assault appeared possible. The deputy restrained and handcuffed the girls after a slight struggle; one of the girls managed to free a hand from the cuffs and run toward the Sonoma Plaza.

The school reserve officer took the other girl to the police station and handed her off to another deputy; he then went in search of the first girl who had been located and detained at Second Street East and Padre Drive. Both were cited and released to the custody of their parents.

The next day, Tuesday, June 4, a disagreement that started at the Tuesday market at the Sonoma Plaza was carried back to the neighborhood of two young Boyes Hot Springs residents. They had been arguing over a girl at the Plaza, and one boy pulled a small folding knife and threatened the other. The victim ran but tripped over a fence, and the assailant, a 17-year-old juvenile, jumped on him and punched him several times and kicked him at least once. The 19-year-old victim called police when he returned home and said he had been beaten and lost consciousness; the responding deputy confirmed that the left side of his face was badly swollen. The victim pointed the deputy to the assailant who lived in the same neighborhood. The assailant was located and arrested on a misdemeanor weapons charge (the knife) and two felony assault charges; name withheld because of his minor status. He was referred to the juvenile justice center.