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Semi-nude assault suspect found wandering in Sonoma vineyard

Posted on June 21, 2019 by Sonoma Valley Sun

The man who crashed his pickup on Broadway, then attacked a passerby who offered to help him early Wednesday morning, was high on meth, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.

The suspect, later identified as Wayne Fortier, 37, compounded the assault by running off into a nearby vineyard. He was found hours later — “confused and paranoid” — clad only in his underwear.

The bizarre incident began at 2:40 a.m. with the suspect’s solo crash in the 21000 block of Broadway in Sonoma. Deputies were dispatched to the scene when a caller reported the crash and said he had been attacked.

The victim reported that while driving home from work, he saw a pickup truck in a ditch and asked the driver if he needed any help.  The driver ran towards the victim, brandishing a hammer or similar tool.

The victim said that as he drove away to avoid the threat, the suspect hit the victim’s back door on the driver’s side with the tool.

Fortier, said to be a transient, left the scene on foot. Deputies searched the area to no immediate avail.

Later, about 7:30 a.m., residents in the 100 block of Specht Road called the Sheriff’s Office to report a man running in their vineyard wearing only underwear.

Deputies took Fortier into custody without incident in the front yard of a home in the 200 block of Watmaugh. He had small scrapes on his arms and legs and seemed confused and paranoid, according to the report.

Fortier was scraped and bruised, and acting “confused and paranoid,” authorities said. Sonoma Valley Fire arrived to give him medical treatment and took Fortier to the hospital at his request.

While at the hospital, Fortier tested positive for methamphetamine.

Fortier was booked into jail and charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon and misdemeanor under the influence of a controlled substance. Bail was set at $30,000.




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