It was a quiet evening in charming downtown Mendocino on Saturday, January 24. Most everything in town is closed by 10 pm, with the exception of a handful of restaurants and pubs. Schlafer’s Chevron, the only gas station in the small community, was closed by then. But out of town vistor Hunter Rhoby Graham was wandering about, and must have wanted something to snack on.
Hunter Rhoby Graham Mendocino Co. booking photo.
According to the Mendocino Sheriff’s office, Graham was heavily intoxicated, on drugs, alcohol, or perhaps both. Someone saw him wearing a “cabbie newsboy” style hat, baggy shorts, and a black coat, and obviously intoxicated. The witness watched as he approached the Chevron gas station, break a window, and go inside.
The witness called the Sheriff’s Department while the 19-year-old young man gathered up some loot from the gas station store, and then leave the premises.
Deputies soon arrived, took statements from witnesses, examined the scene, and began to search for their suspect. They didn’t have to go far. Graham had gone just up the road, turned the corner, and was headed up Lansing street. He was about a block up the gently sloping road when they spotted him, staggering on the edge of the roadway. He was easily taken into custody.
Graham, whose home address is in Auburn, just east of Sacramento and Roseville, had cuts all over his hands and legs from the broken glass. He also had some shards still clinging to his coat. He had stuffed 19 candy bars from the store into his pockets, and had also taken some chips and bottled soda. No money or more valuable merchandise was found on him, or appeared to be missing from the store. The damage to the glass was no doubt many times more costly than the assorted munchies he had taken.
Graham was arrested and booked at the Mendocino County Jail for second degree burglary. Bail was set at $15,000.00. Additional charges of vandalism and public intoxication may be added as well.
