SRPD Summary of Cinco de Mayo Operations

The Santa Rosa Police Department (SRPD) was proud to provide additional support and services to help make last week’s Cinco de Mayo Festival a success. To ensure we could provide quality service citywide, SRPD had additional staffing for DUI enforcement, and both our Special Enforcement Team and Gang Crimes Team were conducting proactive patrols to maintain a visible presence near the Cinco de May Festival. The SRPD Department Operations Center was opened to quickly receive and disseminate information related to in-progress crimes and other events that may have posed a safety concern for the community and to quickly deploy additional resources if necessary.

Between midnight on May 5 and 6:00 a.m. on May 6, SRPD personnel responded to 332 incidents, which was 100 more incidents than the Sunday prior. Officers responded to 25 general disturbance calls, which included reports of fights; 11 collisions; 2 assault with deadly weapons reports; and multiple reports of potential sideshow activity.  SRPD officers conducted 96 traffic stops and made 20 arrests during that time frame, half of which can be attributed to alcohol use (8 DUI arrests, 2 arrests for public intoxication). The following is a summary of the more significant events:

At approximately 4:33 p.m., officers responded to the intersection of Stony Point Road and Sebastopol Avenue to a report of a collision involving multiple vehicles. Officers arrived and learned that Karen Mendez-Garcia, a 22-year-old resident of Santa Rosa, was driving while intoxicated and collided with two vehicles on Stony Point Road, near Lazzini Avenue. Mendez-Garcia fled the area north on Stony Point Road and then collided with 3 additional vehicles in the intersection with Sebastopol Road. Witnesses reported Mendez-Garcia was driving at a high rate of speed before and following the initial collision. Mendez-Garcia, who received minor injuries as the result of these collisions, was transported to an area hospital for medical treatment before being booked into Sonoma County Jail for felony DUI, per 23153(a) VC. The investigation into this collision is ongoing, and additional charges may be filed at a later date (SRPD case #23-5363).

At approximately 4:36 p.m., officers assigned to traffic control and roving foot patrols at the Cinco de Mayo Festival on Sebastopol Road were flagged down by a community member who reported a man in the area of Sebastopol Road and Dutton Avenue was waving a large knife in a threatening manner at vehicles and pedestrians. Officers responded to the location and saw Elmundo Cruz, a 37-year-old transient from Santa Rosa, holding an alcoholic beverage in one hand and a fixed-blade knife in the other. Cruz was observed making stabbing motions with the knife. An officer gave Cruz multiple commands to drop the knife, which had a blade approximately 7 inches in length. Cruz ignored the commands and began walking toward the crowded festival. Fearing Cruz would enter the festival and violently assault innocent bystanders, another officer utilized the “arc” function of her “Taser” Conducted Electrical Device. The arc function is used to provide a “warning arc display” where the electrical arcs can be seen and heard, but the cartridges are not discharged. This is done in conjunction with verbal commands to warn a violent or potentially violent suspect they may be “tased” if they fail to comply with lawful orders.

Cruz dropped the knife and attempted to run away from the officers. Cruz was quickly caught and taken to the ground by an officer. Cruz then began kicking and struggling with the officers trying to detain him. To prevent Cruz from injuring himself or officers, he was detained in a “WRAP” restraint device, which restricted the movement of his arms and legs. Two officers received minor injuries during the incident.
Cruz, who was on 8 counts of misdemeanor pretrial release for pending court cases against him, was booked into Sonoma County Jail for the following charges (SRPD case number 24-5364):

1203.2(a) PC – Misdemeanor probation violation
417(a)(1) PC – Misdemeanor brandishing of a deadly weapon
69(a) PC – Felony obstructing and resisting a peace officer

At approximately 7:45 p.m., officers assigned to SRPD SET were on proactive patrols in the area of West Avenue and Sunset Avenue, approximately one block away from the festival, when the sergeant assigned to the team contacted a group of individuals associated with an illegally parked vehicle. Based on information learned by the sergeant during this initial contact, he had reason to conduct a safety pat-down on one subject he believed may have a concealed weapon. The sergeant located a loaded .45 caliber firearm in a satchel being worn by a 17-year-old male resident of Santa Rosa. No other individuals in the group were in possession of any weapons. The 17-year-old male, who will not be identified due to his age, was arrested for the following charges (SRPD case number 24-5373):

25400(a)(2) PC – Felony carrying a concealed weapon
25850(a) PC – Felony carrying a loaded firearm in public

At approximately 8:20 p.m., officers on proactive patrols observed several vehicles on Sebastopol Road, west of the festival area, began assembling for a potential sideshow. Vehicles were seen in the area speeding and peeling out. Numerous officers responded and began conducting traffic enforcement stops on involved vehicles, ultimately preventing a sideshow from beginning.

As officers were successfully preventing the sideshow activity on Sebastopol Road from materializing, other officers responded to the intersection of Dutton Avenue and Sebastopol Road to a report of another DUI collision. At approximately 8:39 p.m., an officer assigned to DUI enforcement investigated a two-vehicle collision and learned that Thon Phanchan, a 55-year-old resident of Santa Rosa, was driving while under the influence of alcohol when he rear-ended another vehicle near the intersection. Phanchan was arrested and booked into Sonoma County Jail for the following offenses (SRPD case number 24-5375):

23152(a) VC – Misdemeanor DUI
23152(b) VC – Misdemeanor DUI with a blood alcohol content above 0.08%

At approximately 9:10 p.m., a primer gray Ford Mustang was driving recklessly and performed a “burnout” in the 900 block of Sebastopol Road, generating a large plume of smoke. This was done in front of a large crowd of people loitering and drinking alcohol in a parking lot. The driver, Robert Jose Mendoza Jr., a 36-year-old Santa Rosa resident, was pulled over by an SRPD officer shortly after the incident. Mendoza was found to have 4 juvenile passengers in his vehicle. Because his driving placed those children in a potentially dangerous situation, Mendoza was arrested and booked into Sonoma County Jail for misdemeanor child endangerment per 273(a)(b) PC. Mendoza’s car was impounded for 30 days for reckless driving (SRPD case number 24-5376).

At approximately 9:15 p.m., shortly after the end of the festival and as officers were still investigating the DUI collision and reckless driving incidents, additional officers responded again to the 900 block of Sebastopol Road for numerous reports of potential sideshow activity. SRPD officers worked quickly to disperse vehicles and conduct sideshow-related traffic enforcement stops.

At approximately 9:32 p.m., officers were dispatched back to the 900 block of Sebastopol Road to a report of a subject who may have been shot. Officers first to arrive learned the victim had not been shot but rather hit in the head with a glass bottle. The victim, an adult male, had been involved in a fight in the area when he was struck on the head with a bottle. The victim was uncooperative with police and emergency medical personnel. No arrests were made during this incident (SRPD incident number SR2141260295).

At approximately 10:13 p.m., an officer in the area of Sebastopol Road and West Avenue observed a blue Honda Civic driving approximately 60 MPH in a 30 MPH zone, near where hundreds of festival goers were still present. The officer attempted to make a traffic enforcement stop, but the driver of the vehicle failed to pull over and sped away west on Sebastopol Road. The driver, Henry Meza, a 31-year-old resident of Rohnert Park, drove at a high rate of speed, through red lights and crossing into oncoming traffic as he attempted to evade the officer following him. Meza abandoned the vehicle in the 900 block of Langeburg Street but was soon detained in the area of Sebastopol Road and Doubles Drive. by SRPD officers. The investigating officer suspected Meza may have been intoxicated and conducted a DUI evaluation. Meza, who was on two of probation for previous DUI arrests, was determined to be intoxicated. Meza was arrested and booked into Sonoma County Jail for the following offenses:

                23152(a) VC – Misdemeanor driving under the influence
                23247(e) VC – Misdemeanor operation of a vehicle without and interlock device
                1203.2(a) VC – Misdemeanor probation violation
                2800.2(a) VC – Felony evasion with wanton disregard for public safety 

Media inquiries can be made to Sgt. Patricia Seffens at 707-543-3634 or pseffens@srcity.org.