Shooting In Santa Rosa Was Related To Drug Transaction, Police Say

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — An arrest was made Thursday in connection with a shooting late last month in Santa Rosa, police said.

A 31-year-old man was found suffering from a single gunshot wound shortly after 10:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 25, in the 1400 block of Russell Avenue. The victim was taken to a local hospital where he was treated and then released.

Over the past two weeks, Santa Rosa Police Department's Violent Crimes Investigation Team followed leads and determined the shooting was related to a drug transaction, SRPD Sgt. Brandon Mathies said.

Detectives believe the shooting took place in a car and happened near the intersection of Russell Avenue and Cleveland Avenue.

They also identified a suspect: Gabriel Burgess, a 27-year-old resident of Cotati.

Burgress was arrested in a traffic stop in Petaluma around 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

Detectives then served search warrants at residences in the 400 block of East Railroad Avenue in Cotati and in the 8700 block of Cider Springs Road in Sebastopol.

Burgess was booked into Sonoma County jail on suspicion of attempted murder, robbery and selling a controlled substance.

His bail was set at $1.05 million as of Friday and he is expected to appear in court Monday morning, records showed.