Nirut Honey Gowing seems to have a habit of stealing cars. He’s been arrested for it in the past, and apparently did so again last Thursday in the Santa Rosa area. But he failed to check it out completely.
The red 1990 Acura Legend he was driving had a malfunctioning rear brake light. As he drove through central Santa Rosa at 5:30 in the afternoon on Saturday, on Railroad Street passing the Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel, a police officer noticed the broken brake light and followed the car, initiating a traffic stop in the Railroad Square Historic District, near Depot Park.
Nirut Honey Gowing and an image of Marijuana in his hand, both photos from his Facebook page.
Gowing, driving the stolen car, must have quickly realized his predicament. Not only was the car stolen, but he had an outstanding Post Release Community Supervision (PRCS) felony warrant out on him, and he was carrying a concealed weapon, in the category of “dirk or dagger”. He knew the law on that, as he had been arrested for carrying such a weapon in March of 2013, along with a set of burglar’s tools. He was also charged then with violating his parole, stemming from arrests in 2007 and 2008 for stealing cars. His November 2008 arrest also included charges of forgery, possessing stolen property, and burglary tools.
So feeling the heat, Gowing tried to make a run for it. According to Santa Rosa Police, he hung a quick left at 5th Street, circled back through the parking lot between the Depot Park and historic train station (now a visitor’s center) and back on to 4th Street. But he lost control, running into the fire hydrant and stop sign at the corner, right in front of Chevy’s restaurant, along with a few pedestrian safety barriers. All that didn’t stop him, however, and he headed down 4th Street towards Davis Street. The officer pursuing him observed Gowing open the driver’s door as if to jump from the moving vehicle, which led to his completely losing control and running into more pedestrian safety barriers at 4th and Davis, nearly missing the Charlie Brown statue on the corner.
Protected by a group of barriers, Charlie Brown the Conductor was not harmed in the crash.
Still not ready to give up, Gowing jumped from the car and made a run for it on foot. By then, more officers had responded to the scene, and setting up a perimeter, they were able to apprehend him at the corner of Wilson and 3rd, at the opposite corner of the block, and near where he was first observed.
Gowing was detained, and the officers located the dagger he was carrying in his pants pocket. Identifying him, they discovered the outstanding warrant, and the status of the stolen, and now damaged Acura. He was arrested and charged with reckless evading, vehicle theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, burglar’s tools, and a concealed dirk or dagger, with an enhancement for prior vehicle theft.
Gowing admitted to having been in a gang when he lived in Long Beach, California, and stated that he was now living with family in Petaluma. His history of arrests shows he has also spent time living in Oakland, where he was twice charged with grand theft-auto.
