SAN ANDREAS – The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office has announced the arrest of a known parolee who was carrying a large knife.
The original report on Sunday night was of a man with a gun seen in the parking lot of the Mark Twain Hospital on Mountain Ranch Road. At 9:50 pm, deputies responded to the call. They did not find anyone there, but a search of the area revealed a man they knew of, 51-year-old Wayne Eric Townsend, just down Mountain Ranch Road in the parking lot of the Cal Works building at the corner of East St. Charles Street. In addition to 5 arrests in the past 2 months for parole violations and drunk and disorderly conduct, Townsend had been arrested early that same morning at the Sierra Super Stop less than a mile away. He was given a citation for that incident.
When they found him this time, he was at the rear of the building. The deputies ordered him to show his hands, since they suspected that he was armed this time. He refused to comply with the demand, and instead turned away and lifted his shirt up, apparently reaching for something in his waistband. Perhaps because they knew his past and that he was intoxicated at the time, rather than use his service weapon, the deputy chose to rush him and knock him onto the ground and into a large shrub. An 11 1/2 inch knife fell from Townsend’s hands as he was pushed. The deputies took him into immediate custody for booking at the Calaveras County Jail. The deputy suffered some minor cuts from his contact with the shrub. They asked him if he had planned to use his knife on them, but Townsend kept quiet.
Deputies encountered Townsend behind the Cal Works building where he was arrested again Sunday night.
He was booked on misdemeanor charges of battery on a peace officer, obstructing a peace officer, and public intoxication. Felony charges, which may result in more extended jail time for this latest incident, included assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed dirk or dagger, and parole violations.
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