Sonoma Police: Texting While Drinking, Driving and Crashing; Peeping Tom; East Side Neighbor Altercation

Selected calls from the : 

Friday, Oct. 14

Identity Theft: A Sonoma resident reported that someone tried to open accounts at Chase Bank and Capital One Bank using her social security number. No charges were placed with either account.

Driving Under the Influence: A patrolling deputy stopped a man driving a 1991 grey Mercedes after he cut off a pedestrian in a cross walk on East Napa at Broadway. The driver, Arturo Molina-Miranda, a 46-year-old Boyes Hot Springs resident, did not have a valid drivers license, though he was carrying a Mexican ID card. The officer described him as sweating profusely on his face and forehead and grinding his teeth. The deputy search his car and found a prescription container of amoxicillin, containing two vicodin tablets and a small amount of cocaine, and two short straws, typically used for snorting cocaine. Molina-Miranda was charged with counts of driving under the influence of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving without a license and possession of a controlled substance. He was arrested and booked into Sonoma County Jail.

Battery: A 19-year-old Sonoma resident told police she was standing on the 400 block of First Street East crying, when Sarah Reece, 18, walked up to her and started yelling, for no apparent reason. Another girl, also 19, walked up to Reece to defend her friend, when Reece clocked her in the face, above her left eye, with a closed fist. Reece hit the girl four to five times in the face, before wandering off, shouting, “the next time I see you, I’ll slit your throat,” according to a statement given to police. The victim filed charges against Reece, but police have been unable to locate her.

Saturday, Oct. 15

Peeping Tom: At 1:59 p.m. a peeping tom hit the 1000 block of First Street West, causing several residents to place complaints with the Sonoma Police. Officers arrived on scene to a fresh complaint: A 17-year-old girl was reading her bible in her bedroom, with the blinds closed, when she heard a tap on the doorway and a male voice. Officers found Kevin Steckler, a 55-year-old Sonoma resident hiding in a neighboring apartment complex. Steckler, a registered sex offender who police say has a history of prowling private property dating back to the 80s, admitted to prowling and was charging with peeping while prowling and resisting arrest. He was booked into Sonoma County Jail.

Vandalism: Someone used a tequila bottle to break the side view mirror of a ’98 BMW 535, parked on the 1600 Daniel Young Dr.

Battery: A 61-year-old resident of the 800 block of Fourth Street East told police he hasn’t been getting along with his new neighbor, 50, due to his propensity to play music in the evening and park in front of his property. The terse relationship came to a head when the long-timer walked in front of the new guy’s house: they argued and began a pushing match. The man requested that police document the incident.

Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor: Police responded to a report of a suspicious person lurking in Maxwell Park. Police arrived to find Douglass Wagoner, a 23-year-old El Verano man, sharing a bottle of tequila with two boys, 17 and 13, coming from the Homecoming Dance. Wagoner was cited for furnishing alcohol to a minor.  

Sunday, Oct. 16

Burglary: Someone broke into a coin machine at a business in the Marketplace Shopping Center. They stole about $3,000 in quarters and cash. A box cutter was left at the scene; police have submitted it for fingerprint analysis.

Stolen Bike: Someone stole a brown 21-speed Novara Randonee men’s road bike, valued at $1000 bike. It was chained on Patten street, both chain and lock were missing. The bike’s serial number is F804Y1474.

Found Bike: A purple Kulana 7-speed bike, valued at $50, was found near the Vallejo home.

Tuesday, Oct. 18

Petty Theft:  A woman walked into , asked for a job application and then proceeded to take a $13.39 worth of goods – a sponge scrubber and several containers of Vita Coconut Water – and walk out of the store without paying. A security guard confronted the woman, Gloria Ortega, who told him she had only taken the items so her children could have something to drink, because her husband hadn’t given her money.

Hit and Run: Stacey Kahn, a 28-year-old El Verano woman, was texting while driving her Ford 2011 F150 pickup when she hit a sedan, parked on the 800 block of West Spain Street. A neighbor confronted Kahn; she told him that she didn’t want get in trouble, and took off. Deputies found her at the Off Broadway Cleaners; she said she’d come from an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and hadn’t had anything to drink. A breath test administered by police placed her blood alcohol level at .22 percent. She was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and booked into Sonoma County Jail.