Armed Burglar Arrested After Breaking into a Residence

On Wednesday, April 30^th, 2025, around 8:35 p.m., Santa Rosa Police Officers responded to the 2500 block of Meda Avenue regarding a burglary in progress. The homeowner, who was not currently at the residence, had seen a male suspect enter her home. The homeowner did not know the suspect.

When officers arrived, they saw the suspect—identified as Jiovanny Rivas, 23, a Santa Rosa resident—pacing inside the kitchen. Rivas was uncooperative and refused to exit the residence. Officers, including a police canine, approached to make contact and arrest Rivas. He grabbed a large kitchen knife. To avoid an armed confrontation, officers withdrew from the home, at which point Rivas barricaded himself inside a bedroom.

Given the escalating circumstances, the Santa Rosa Police SWAT and Crisis Negotiator teams responded. Officers tried to talk with Rivas and convince him to exit the residence and voluntarily, to resolve the incident peacefully. Rivas did not respond to the officers and refused to speak with them.

After approximately 4 hours of unsuccessfully trying to engage and speak with the Rivas, officers deployed chemical agents to get him to exit the residence voluntarily. Chemical agents are a less-lethal tool that are used during high-risk situations to gain voluntary compliance by causing the temporary discomfort of a potentially dangerous person while allowing officers to maintain a safe distance. This decreases the likelihood of an armed confrontation and minimizes the potential of injury to the officer and suspect.

After the deployment of chemical agents, Rivas began to move throughout the residence but still refused to comply. Officers on scene saw that Rivas was still armed with the knife.  Officers deployed chemical agents again, and the Rivas fled toward a bedroom, closed the door, and barricaded themselves inside. A trained negotiator from the Hostage Negotiations Team attempted to engage with the Rivas while he was barricaded inside of the room. Rivas still refused and would not speak with anyone.

At one point, officers saw that Rivas no longer had the knife. They were able to retrieve the knife while approaching Rivas. Rivas continued with his uncooperative and resistive behavior and attempted to hide under clothing and other items, which concealed his hands from view. Concerned that he still might be armed, officers deployed several less-lethal tools, which included less-lethal projectiles and a taser.  Both struck Rivas.  They were effective and allowed officers to take Rivas into custody without any additional incident. 

Detectives from our Violent Crimes Team went to the home and took over the investigation.  At the time of this release, the investigation is continuing and, and additional information is still being learned.

Rivas sustained minor injuries from the incident and force used, which included the deployment of a police canine, chemical agents, a taser, and less-lethal projectiles.  He was treated at a local hospital, and officers booked him into jail on the following charges:

§459 Penal Code - Burglary
§ 69 Penal Code - Resisting an Officer by Threat, Violence or Force
Violation of Pre-Trial Release

Two Santa Rosa Police Officers received minor injuries during the incident. They were treated at a local hospital and released.

Lieutenant Christopher Mahurin can be contacted for any media inquiries at cmahurin@srcity.org. Santa Rosa Police Department Case# SR25-5065.