Police blotter: Bike path flasher; Plaza melee; theaxting and more.

A woman who detected a “furtive movement” on the bike path March 26 turned to see a troublesome manifestation – the exposed genitals of a teenage boy. Still lurking nearby when the law arrived, the teen was detained and identified. Before removal to juvenile hall, he was asked what provoked the unseemly gesture. “I don’t know,” he said. “I guess I just wanted to see what she would do.”

Drunk of Week

Prescription painkillers were the probable culprits on March 25 as a Sonoma woman, 53, rolled her car on the 400 block of Fourth Street East. She was found dangling from the seatbelt of her vehicle, which had tipped on its side after striking a parked car. Once cleared by the hospital, she was arrested for driving under the influence of her own medicinal protocol. The incident was a violation of probation, so will be filed as a felony.

Melee on the Plaza

A bottle-wielding assailant knocked a man to the ground outside a Plaza bar on March 23, then kicked the victim repeatedly as he lay bleeding on the street. Police responding to the 1:40 a.m. call said about 150 people were milling around Steiner’s Tavern, and the situation, rife with gang implications, was tense – another fight broke out among the bystanders, and several men were handcuffed and detained. Meanwhile the suspect in the bottle attack was pursued on foot through the Plaza. The Sonoma man, 21, was tackled and cuffed. He denied the assault, but an injured thumb, consistent with a cut by broken glass, and the statements of eyewitnesses said otherwise. He was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. At least two other men were arrested for resisting arrest. The victim, a 27-year-old Springs man, said the attack, in which he sustained five large cuts requiring 50 stitches, was unprovoked

Emotional outburst

The man walking down West Napa Street at 1:30 a.m. on March 23 had a lot on his mind, most off it bad. A deputy on patrol saw the Springs man, 21, suddenly leap into the air and punch a decorative street lamp in front of Westamerica Bank. The man was contrite – he said he was distraught over a bad relationship – but, the officer quickly detected, very drunk. Hence the citation for drunk in public and vandalism.

Powerful evidence

Police responding to a March 24 tip about a cache of tools stolen in a string of vehicle burglaries think they have their man. In a visit to the 800 block of Grove Street, officers found a “copious amount of merchandise” (four power saws, a nail gun, grinder, sander, etc.) and elicited a confession of sorts – the suspect never spoke, but nodded his head to answer questions. Paperwork in the stash tied the gear to at least four car robbery victims, and most of it was returned. For the suspect, a charge of possessing stolen property.

Threaxting?

A Sonoma woman told cops on March 24 that her ex had violated a restraining order by harassing her with threatening text messages. She fears escalating behavior, but the software in play, which masks where the message is actually coming from, make probable cause a big challenge.

Alleged abuse, death threats

Ugly scene on Fine Avenue, as a 20-year-old Sonoma man was arrested for abusing his girlfriend, 19, who said she feared for her life after a night of intimidation and physical abuse. The two had been dating for two years and lived separately; trouble began earlier this month when the suspect learned the woman had been unfaithful. Triggered by a song that reminded him of the infidelity, the man allegedly kicked, pummeled and choked the woman. On March 22, neighbors heard the continuing fight and called deputies, who were urged by the victim “to take him away, he’s going to kill me.” She said he put a knife to her wrist and threatened to kill her if she called the police, then threw the knife into a wall. The suspect admitted to being “tense” over the infidelity, but denied all wrongdoing. Police sided with the frightened woman, who had sustained fresh bruises and scrapes consistent with the described abuse. The suspect was arrested on charges of felony domestic violence and false imprisonment, among others.