Suspects Arrested In Brutal Santa Rosa Golf Club Beating
SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) -- Two suspects have been arrested in connection with an assault with a golf club that left three men suffered serious injuries at the Santa Rosa Transit Mall in downtown Santa Rosa, police said.
Police said they were able to identify the suspects due to investigative leads and information from community members.
One suspect, 24-year-old Cotati resident Elijio Garfia, was spotted in a vehicle shortly after 9:30 a.m. Friday and taken into custody uring a traffic stop in the 3300 block of Moorland Avenue.
A search turned up a "usable amount of cocaine" in his possession, police said. Two other people in the vehicle were questioned and released.
Garfia was booked into the Sonoma County Jail on charges that include assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a controlled substance and an outstanding misdemeanor warrant.
The other identified suspect a 16-year-old male, was taken into custody in Rohnert Park by the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety. The suspect, a Cotati resident who is not being identified, was turned over to the Santa Rosa Police Department and booled on an assault with a deadly weapon charge.
The three victims, who were taken to a hospital, were confronted at the mall at 500 Second St. around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday.
One of the suspects struck the victims several times with a golf club, police said.
The suspects then ran east toward Santa Rosa Avenue and several of them fled in a small, older model white sedan.
"Based on the investigation, detectives believe that the assault on the victims was not a random attack," Santa Rosa police said in a news release. "The suspects were familiar with at least one of the victims and had an ongoing dispute."
Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Detective Cogbill at (707) 543-3590