Police Report: Young girl left alone on Plaza
Observant Plaza-goers grew concerned on Friday afternoon, October 4, when it became clear that a seven-year-old girl had been left at the playground without supervision. The youngster was playing happily with other kids and was not scared, police. In fact, she told them that her foster mom usually sits in a parked car and watches her play. After about 20 minutes, and with the mother nowhere to be found – she went home to put the groceries away, the girl said – police took the girl to the station house. The foster mother, 55, of El Verano, arrived about 50 minutes later. She told police she had left the girl alone for a few minutes to put ice cream in the home freezer before it melted, and had returned to her parked-car vantage point. She told officers that she began looking for the girl when it started to get dark, and learned of the girl’s whereabouts from parents at the playground. The girl was released back to the foster mother, who promised “it won’t happen again.” The report will go to Child Protective Services.
Keep your hands up
A woman placing shopping bags on the seat of her car was confronted with a sight most unseemly – a man in an adjacent vehicle, smile on his face, was masturbating. The disturbing narrative unfolded October 11, at about 5:15 p.m., outside of CVS. As the Hispanic man drove off – hopefully with both hands on the steering wheel — she noted the plate number of the white Nissan pick-up truck. It was tracked to a Napa address. When caught, the frisky flasher faces a charge of indecent exposure.
Search, seizure
A common duty of a police officer is the probation search, an unannounced visit to the home of a criminal, usually with drugs or alcohol on the resume, to make sure he or she is not reverting to bad habits. A search on 10:30 a.m. on October 8 found ample evidence of such a backslide. Upon arrival to the residence on Manuella Street, officers saw a man hurrying to lock an outdoor storage shed. The man, 27, was the boyfriend of the search target, a 29-year-old woman who lived at the residence with her mother and three kids. After claiming he didn’t have the key, the defiant man (eventually charged with obstructing the investigation) finally made way for the cops, who inside the shed found a drug pipe, a mirror replete with a razor blade and trace amounts of a white powder, marijuana stashed in a paint can and a number of pills in bottles prescribed to other people, including a woman who died last December. The trove merited charges of possession and, no surprise, violation of probation. The DA will look at any child endangerment issues.
Drunk of the Week
Sometimes, particularly when you are dead drunk at 4:55 p.m., sitting on the ground with your back against a telephone pole seems like a mighty comfortable option. Such a spot beckoned a 34-year-old Napa man on October 7 who, after cocktails on the Plaza, came to rest in the 200 block of E. Napa St. Cops shook him awake, though it took some time before he could speak clearly, let alone stand up. When he couldn’t think of anyone to come get him, he was taken to the police station to sober up.
Woman under the influence
A woman stumbling down the aisles of Safeway was presumed drunk on October 6, and police were summoned accordingly. Officers arrived to find the Sonoma woman, 61, in the parking lot, severely challenged by the intricacies of her car door. Unable to stand, she slumped to the curb where, in slurred voice, she told police she had not been drinking, but had been consuming “a lot of” prescription pills for physical problems. Regardless, she was cited for being under the influence of a controlled substance.
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Why is it a problem for a seven year old to play at a park alone? It was obviously a safe area. Other parents were there who cared enough to call the police. If there had been a problem they could have been neighborly and helped. Seven year olds should be given some freedom and independence outside in safe areas. It is good for her health to be outside and active, the benifits outweigh the risks. Unless you consider the risk of over protective neighbor/police interference.