PETALUMA – On Saturday, January 17 at approximately 12:30 pm, the Petaluma Police Department dispatch received numerous 911 calls about a vehicle collision that occurred in front of the US Post Office located at 1150 North McDowell Boulevard.
A gold Ford F-150 pickup truck had reportedly hit an older model Chevrolet pickup from behind. The older truck had been slowing to make a right turn into the Post Office parking lot when the F-150 rear-ended the truck causing it to flip over and land on its roof. The driver of the Chevrolet truck was a 78-year-old man from Petaluma. He had to be extricated from the vehicle by the Petaluma Fire Department.
As police officers were arriving on scene the driver of the F-150 drove away on McDowell Boulevard in a northern direction. Witnesses in the vicinity saw empty beer cans being thrown from the F-150 as it sped away.
Officers stopped the F-150 on North McDowell just a short distance from the scene of the collision. They saw major front-end damage to the truck, and could also see that the airbags had been deployed. As the officers attempted to question the driver they detected the odor of alcohol and noticed that his speech was slurred, and that he was unsteady on his feet. The driver of the vehicle then became combative with the officers and had to be restrained in handcuffs. Although an officer had been kicked during the struggle, he was not seriously injured.
The driver originally gave officers a false name and date of birth. Then after learning his true identity it was discovered that he had outstanding warrants out of Marin County and he was also the restrained person in a domestic violence restraining order. A woman in the passenger seat was identified as the protected person, and should not have been with the driver. She also gave false information to a police officer and it was soon discovered that she also had an outstanding warrant from Marin County for assault with a deadly weapon.
The driver of the vehicle was identified as Jesus Orosco-Cota, a 38-year-old resident of Novato. He was booked into Sonoma County Jail on $100,000 bail and faces charges of felony DUI, felony hit and run, giving false information to a police officer, misdemeanor battery on an officer, violation of a domestic violence restraining order, driving on a suspended driver’s license and four outstanding warrants from Marin County.
Orosco-Cota had been arrested on the domestic violence charge on July 30, 2014, and that arrest was followed by a charge of burglary and DUI on August 4. Prior to those incidents, he was charged with burglary and probation violation in May, petty theft and DUI in February, and DUI with public intoxication in December 2013.
Marissa Arias Cordova (file photo)
The passenger of the vehicle was identified as Marissa Arias-Cordova, a 31-year-old resident of Novato. She was booked into Sonoma County Jail for giving false information to an officer and an outstanding $25,000 warrant. Her arrest for assault with a deadly weapon and battery, along with vandalism happened on March 26. She was caught after attacking a man and his car with a large kitchen knife. Because victims of domestic violence are not normally identified, it is not clear if Orosco-Cota was the person she attacked in that incident.
After the two had been booked in this incident, it was learned that the Ford F-150 had been stolen from a construction site in Petaluma earlier in the day. Petaluma officers are conducting a follow up investigation that will seek additional charges for both suspects for the theft of a motor vehicle.
The driver of the Chevrolet pickup was transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital where he was treated for abrasions and back pain. He was later released.
