Early Sunday morning, January 18, a couple arrived at the Graton Casino in Rohnert Park. The casino is a large Vegas style gaming resort located in the Sonoma Wine Country, and run by the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. It was around 2:30 am when the man went into the casino, but the woman decided to stay in their car and sleep while her boyfriend went inside.
According to the Sonoma Sheriff’s office, the woman was sleeping in the car’s passenger seat, parked in the south lot of the casino grounds. Later review of the parking lot surveillance revealed that a man was watching the car while she slept at about 3 am. He then approached the car, opened the driver’s door, and entered.
The Graton Casino and Resort in Rohnert Park
He then reportedly attacked the woman, using a socket wrench and hitting her on the arm, hand and head. She began screaming, and security personnel from the casino responded. The attacker fled as they arrived, and he left the premises. He was said to have taken just a backpack from the car while he ran away. Sheriff’s deputies and paramedics responded to the scene, and the woman, an unidentified 28-year-old from Marin County, was taken to the hospital for her injuries.
Review of the surveillance video was challenging due to the foggy conditions, but according to a report in the Press Democrat, the tape revealed that the assailant had come from a red Honda Civic, which had been parked adjacent to the victim’s car, and was left there when the suspect fled. The Sheriff’s Violent Crimes detectives kept the car under observation that day, and the culprit returned at about 2 pm. Sergerant Dave Pederson told the Press Democrat that the suspect, identified as 35-year-old Leonel Baul Alinea of Daly City, is also suspected of breaking into Parker Electromechanical’s Compumotors building on Business Park Drive, just a few blocks from Graton Casino. He may have hidden there while waiting to return for his car. Pederson also said that when Alinea arrived to get his car, he was riding a bicycle that he had stolen, and was in the process of loading it into his Honda when he was arrested.
The missing backpack and the checkered sweatshirt he had been wearing when seen by the security officers were recovered in the immediate area. Alinea was booked at the Sonoma County Main adult Detention facility on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, and burglary. Bail was set at $100,000.00.
Read More:
The Press Democrat: Arrest made in Graton Casino attack
