Two Arrested for Felony Assaults Against Peace Officers in Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa – On Saturday night, August 30 at about 7:30 pm, Sonoma County Sheriff’s deputies on patrol in the area of Santa Rosa Avenue and Todd Road observed a known gang member on probation. The officers also saw several other subjects in a vehicle that were associated with the known gang member. The vehicle was near the Rotten Robbie gas station.
When the deputies contacted the subjects in the vehicle, they determined that one of them was in violation of his parole by being with other gang members. The subject was identified as Ivan Rodriguez. The officers had Rodriguez exit the vehicle and he immediately resisted the officers’ efforts to take him into custody. A fight ensued, and Rodriguez yelled to the other subjects to flee from the vehicle, while he fought with the deputies.
Officers requested assistance over the police radio, as they were unable to take Rodriguez into custody. In the midst of fighting Rodriquez another subject, identified as Richard Contreras Jr., also got involved in the fight and began assaulting the officers.
Other deputies soon arrived on the scene, and with their assistance the officers were able to take both Rodriquez and Contreras into custody. Deputies searched the parking lot area of the gas station and located a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol in a garbage can.
Rodriguez and Contreras are both 21 years old and both are from Clearlake. They were booked into the Sonoma County Jail for resisting arrest, felony battery against a peace officer, violation of probation, and participation in a street gang. The bail was set at $75,000 for each of them.
After the arrest of the suspects, both officers were treated for their injuries at a local hospital and released. The two officers are members of the Multi Agency Gang Task Force, also known as MAGNET.