A 48-year-old Santa Rosa woman was arrested Tuesday evening, July 14, in Sonoma following what police described as a series of confrontations, one in which the woman was accused of exposing herself to minors at Maxwell Park.
Read more Gilroy Garlic Festival returns, growing a legacy of giving back
Shortly before 8 p.m., Sonoma police were called to the 19000 block of Highway 12 in the Maxwell Village Shopping Center following reports of a disturbance.
A driver told police a woman, who was later identified as a Santa Rosa resident, started an argument with him in the parking lot. The driver told police the woman spit on his vehicle and appeared to tamper with its rear license plate. The man told police that when he confronted her, she slapped him.
While the driver declined to pursue charges against the woman because of the alleged slap, police wound up arresting her anyway on suspicion of public intoxication, police Sgt. Eric Smith said.
While at the scene of that incident, responding police were approached by witnesses to an earlier incident who accused the woman of exposing herself to a group of teenagers in nearby Maxwell Park.
Police said the woman was accused of flashing her breasts at the teens who were skateboarding at the Maxwell Farms Skatepark.
Smith said there were at least two teenagers in the area when the woman was being arrested and they told police about the incident after recognizing her.
“If there are other victims, we’d love to talk to them. But we have a little follow up to do to see if we can identify anyone else,” Smith said.
He added that it was later determined the woman was on probation following previous convictions for possession of a controlled substance and petty theft. The terms of her probation prohibited her from consuming alcohol and she was also arrested on suspicion of probation violation.
Smith said the woman was also awaiting trial on separate charges in the suspected battery of a peace officer and anothert possession of a controlled substance case.
The woman was booked into Sonoma County jail in Santa Rosa and faces possible misdemeanor charges of indecent exposure, public intoxication and violation of probation, police said.
Authorities are continuing to investigate the skate park incident and are encouraging any additional victims or witnesses to contact the Sonoma Police Department.
You can reach Staff Writer Emma Molloy at [email protected].
About the Author
