2 Arrested In Cotati In Separate DUI Incidents, Police Say

COTATI, CA — Two people were arrested Saturday night in Cotati on suspicion of DUI in two separate incidents, the Cotati Police Department said in a Facebook post.

Around 11:20 p.m. Saturday, officers responded to Wilford Lane to investigate a report of a battery. The victim told police his daughter’s boyfriend was intoxicated and had punched them during an argument. The argument erupted when the suspect tried to take his two children — the victim’s grandchildren— and drive away with them.

Cotati officers learned that not only was the suspect driving around with the two small children, but his wife was in the bed of the pickup truck because she'd tried to get the children out and tried to stop the suspect from driving.

The suspect returned while officers were on the scene and they tried to stop him but he drove out of the complex. Officers caught up with him on U.S. Highway 101 as he was swerving and driving at a high rate of speed with the mother of the children in the bed of the truck, Cotati police said.

The suspect yielded and was taken into custody without further incident.

"Thankfully no one was hurt in this chaotic incident," Cotati police said. "After he was detained, it was found that the suspect had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .21 percent."

While Cotati officers were dealing with the first incident, Sonoma State University Police assisted by responding to an unrelated collision in Cotati where a driver left the roadway and crashed into a tree.

Field sobriety tests were conducted and the driver was arrested on suspicion of DUI. It is alleged that his BAC was .18 percent.

Cotati police did not disclose the names of the two drivers arrested.