Retired CHP officer foils burglary

A Nash Street resident scuffled with but was unable to detain two young men who were rifling through a garage in Sonoma’s Fryer Creek subdivision last Wednesday.
Police Sgt. Dave Thompson said the man, a retired CHP officer, first saw the suspects while he was watering his neighbor’s lawn just after 4 a.m. in the street’s 1200 block. They were crouching next to the neighbor’s home and, as he watched, both slid under the partially open garage door. The retired officer approached the garage and could hear them moving around inside, so shouted “Police! Come out with your hands up!” and added that he had a partner.
One suspect emerged: a white male in his 20s, about 5-ft. 9-in. tall wearing black clothing and a backwards baseball cap. The man grabbed his arm, but the suspect broke free and ran southbound on Nash Street. While the two were struggling, the second suspect – of similar build and headgear, but wearing a brown and beige plaid shirt – also escaped. Thompson said the pair were last seen running in opposite directions on West MacArthur Street near the bike path that connects with Leveroni Road.
Inside the garage, police found a black flashlight, remote-control car and Bosch Power Box radio next to the partly opened door. Near a car outside, the retired officer found a drill-bit set in a blue plastic case as well as a Nikon digital camera which a neighbor identified as her husband’s.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the Sonoma Police Department at 996.3602.