POLICE: 2 Men Held on Suspicion of Trying to Pass Bad Checks at Napa Bank

Two men were arrested at a Napa branch of Bank of America on suspicion of trying to pass bad checks.

William Monroe Mills, 60, of San Rafael, and Gabriel Jerome Godfrey, 57, of Richmond, were  taken into custody Friday night at the bank at 2 Financial Plaza in Napa on suspicion of burglary, forgery, falsifying driver's license, conspiracy and unauthorized use of personal identification.

Police said the incident started at some point Friday when the local Bank of America  branches put out a warning of a suspicious subject trying to pass bad checks.

At approximately 5:30 p.m., Mills came into the branch at Financial Plaza and identified himself as another person, allegedly using a forged driver’s license and a bank card, and attempted to withdraw several thousand dollars from this person’s account.

The bank denied the transaction and called the police. Mills left the bank but was detained by Napa Police officers in the parking lot. He was allegedly found to be in possession of identification belonging to this other person as well as a possible forged check made out to this other person from another party.

Mills was also allegedly in possession of a small piece of paper that had all of the other person’s personal information, place of employment, and even her son’s name (used as security code for the bank account).

According to police, the other person is actually a Hispanic female adult out of Pittsburg, and the driver’s license and bank card were forged.

Mills was heading to a parked van when he was detained. The occupant of the van, Godfrey, denied knowing Mills and stated he was waiting for his girlfriend.

The van was searched and Mills’ wallet, additional forged credit cards, and other evidence related to the crime were allegedly located in the van.

Godfrey could not explain this other than his girlfriend had a similar wallet and was adamant he did not know Mills. Additionally Mills' cell phone number was located in Godfrey’s phone

Both men were arrested and booked.

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 A 31-year-old Napa-area transient was arrested Sunday on suspicion of burglary, shoplifting, being under the influence of a controlled substance and probation violation.

Raymond Michael Hazen was taken into custody at about 6 p.m. at North Napa Target in Bel Aire Plaza.

 Officers arrived and contacted the loss prevention officer for Target. The loss prevention officer told NPD officers that he observed as Raymond Hazen allegedly selected various merchandise throughout the store and concealed the merchandise in his personal bags.

Hazen allegedly exited the store thru the south exit door without paying for any of the merchandise. The loss prevention officer contacted Hazen outside the store and took him into custody.

As officers spoke with Hazen, they noticed he displayed signs of being under the influence of drugs. Hazen was evaluated and it was determined he was under the influence of a controlled substance.

Hazen was arrested and booked.

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A second arrest of a man named Raymond Michael Hazen occurred Monday, but Napa police said it is unclear if he is related to the 31-year-old man arrested Sunday.

At about 3 a.m. Monday, a 53-year-old Napa man who said he was Raymond Michael Hazen was arrested on suspicion of robbery at the 200 block of Ornduff Street in Napa.

Police said the arrest occurred after Napa officers responded to a residence in the 200 block of Ornduff Street to a report of an unwanted subject. While en-route, dispatch updated the call to a burglary and said the homeowner was detaining the suspect

Upon arrival, the suspect, Hazen, was being held on the ground outside by the homeowner. Hazen was bleeding from the head and had been pepper sprayed.

The investigation revealed that Hazen had come to the residence with possibly two other suspects to steal the medical marijuana growing in the homeowner’s yard.

When the male and female residents of the home confronted the suspects, they said the suspects shined a flashlight into the face of the victims and claimed to be police officers.

As soon as the victims could see Hazen, they told police they could tell Hazen was not a police officer.Hazen then pushed the female victim down and got into a physical altercation with the male victim. The other suspects fled the scene with several marijuana plants.

The mother of the victim came outside and pepper sprayed Hazen as he struggled with her son.

 Hazen claims he was just in the area checking out suspicious activity in the victim’s yard with his flashlight when, for an unknown reason, he was attacked.

Hazen was arrested and taken into custody. 

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 A 34-year-old Napa-area transient was arrested on a  prior warrant after he was taken to a hospital emergency room in an intoxicated state.

Gregory Merrill Nicholson was taken into custody at about 7 p.m. Friday on the warrant at Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa.                                    

As officers were en route to the emergency room, they learned that Napa County Probation Department had been looking for Nicholson and wanted him arrested for a prior violation of his order for a PRCS (Probation Reduced and Case Set Aside).

Officers arrived at the Queen of the Valley hospital and arrested Nicholson. He was booked.

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A 43-year-old Napa woman was arrested Saturday on suspicion of domestic violence, probation violation and violation of a prior court order related to domestic violence.

Gretchen Marie Hallmark was taken into custody at about 12:40 a.m. at a home in the 2500 block of Elm Street in Napa.

Napa police officers had been dispatched to that home in reference to a report of a domestic assault.

Officers arrived and contacted the male victim and Hallmark. The man displayed visible injuries to his face that did not require immediate medical attention. 

A records check showed Hallmark was on active probation for a prior domestic violence incident and a restraining order directing her to stay away from the man.

The man told the officer that Hallmark came home drunk and instigated and argument. She then attacked the man by grabbing him around the neck and dragging him to the ground.

The man said he was able to gain control of Hallmark by straddling her. He then got up and locked himself in the garage, at which time he called the police.

Hallmark was arrested and booked.

Jacinto Navarro Garcia was taken into custody just after 2 p.m. at the store at 2355 California Blvd. in Napa.

 Officers arrived on scene and contacted the victim and Garcia. The woman stated she and Garcia had been arguing, but he had not touched her.

A witness contacted police and stated they saw Garcia shove the victim to the ground on two separate occasions, while demanding the victim to give him her phone.

Garcia was arrested and booked.

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An officer saw Foux riding his bicycle northbound on Coombs Street at Oak Street. The officer, who knows Foux from prior contacts, confirmed that Foux had two outstanding warrants for his arrest.

The officer contacted Foux, who complied with verbal commands to stop his bicycle, but once the officer started to step out of the car, Foux allegedly took off on his bike.

Foux tried to ride between some parked cars behind the library and cornered himself. When the officer tried to approach him on foot, again Foux allegedly tried to take off.

Foux was taken to the ground and he continued to resist violently, police said. Foux was eventually controlled by the officer taken into custody.

Foux was booked.