Sonoma Police: Dog Bites, Gang Members, Vandals Hit Mountain Cemetery

Selected calls from the :

Friday, March 9

Dog Bite: A Petaluma man was walking on the bike path, at Fourth Street East, when a yellow lab lunged, biting the man on his right elbow. The lab was tied to a bench while its owner, a 31-year-old Petaluma woman, breast-fed her child. The dog bite caused the man, 80, to fall, injuring his left knee. He was treated at and released. The dog will be quarantined for 10 days.

Meth Possession: An officer patrolling Fifth Street West spotted Socrates Giannis, 37, sitting in a white Ford van, driven by Daniel Williams, 31. The officer pulled over the van to do a probation search on Giannis, who had a glass pipe and a small vial of methamphetamine in his pants pocket. The officer took Giannis to his home to conduct a search of his and William’s residences. Inside Williams’ home he found needles, dirty with blood. In Giannis’ home, shared with his girlfriend, Melissa Townsend, 38, he found .3 grams of methamphetamine, and Townsend had a meth pipe in her bra. Giannis was charged with a probation violation, possession of a glass pipe and possession of methamphetamine, Townsend was charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of a meth pipe and Williams was charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of a needle and violation of probation.

Citation: At 12:44 p.m. a deputy cited a 20-year-old Sonoma resident who was driving in a silver Honda pilot with a known gang member near . The young man, who has a probation requirement that he not associate with gang members, was driving with a known gang member. He was cited and released.

Saturday, March 10

Citation: Two kids were cited for skateboarding in the Maxwell Park Skate Park without helmets. 

Report: The father of a 13-year old reported his daughter received a harassing text message. The message was later revealed to be a common prank, played by kids.

Dog Off Leash: A resident of the 500 block of Esta Madera Dr. reported that there was a tan boxer standing in his driveway. The dog was returned to his owner, a resident of the same block, who was cited for dog off leash, at large.

Sunday, March 11

Keep the Peace: An officer accompanied a city employee to the 400 block of Fifth Street West to check on a home which had had water shut off for not paying their bill. The water-lock had been cut, and placed in a small blue bucket next to the garage. The residents were charged with theft of utilities and theft and damage of city of Sonoma property.

Tuesday, March 13

Vandalism: Someone stole 36 brass rings from Mountain Cemetery in the evening of March 12. The rings, used to hold up vases that decorate tombstones, were ripped from underneath the vases, damaging and breaking several vases. Damage is estimated at $936.