Windsor man on conditional prison release arrested in brutal Santa Rosa assault, carjacking
SANTA ROSA -- A Windsor man on conditional release from prison who was suspected in the weekend assault and carjacking a 67-year-old man in Santa Rosa turned himself in Tuesday morning, authorities said.
According to a release issued by the Santa Rosa Police Department, on Tuesday morning shortly before 11 a.m., 28-year-old Windsor resident Rico Richard Leaton-Gomez was arrested after he turned himself in at the Sonoma County Jail. Officers took him into custody without incident.
Leaton-Gomez was suspected in an incident that happened late Sunday morning. At around 11:40 am, Santa Rosa police officers responded to a report of a carjacking that had just occurred in the area of 1st Street and A Street. Arriving officers found a 67-year-old adult male victim lying in the roadway on the east side of the intersection. The victim had blood coming from his face from injuries and was unconscious prior to officers arriving at the scene.
Police learned that an adult male -- later identified as Leaton-Gomez -- approached the victim while he was sitting in his pickup truck. He offered to purchase the victim's truck, but the victim declined the offer. After initially walking away, Leaton-Gomez returned to the driver's side of the victim's truck and threw a bag of personal belongings into the back of the pickup truck. He then punched the victim once through the open window.
Leaton-Gomez opened the door and punched the victim again before pulling him out of the vehicle and striking him several more times before the victim fell to the ground. The suspect then got into the truck and started to drive away before backing it up, exiting the vehicle and and fleeing the scene westbound on 1st Street toward A Street.
Officers conducted an area search but were unable to locate Leaton-Gomez. The victim was transported to an area hospital to be treated for significant facial lacerations and abrasions and a broken nose. The victim was not identified.
During the initial investigation, officers identified Leaton-Gomez as the suspect in the incident. Police said they believe Leaton-Gomez had recently become homeless and is currently on Post Release Community Supervision for a prior assault with a deadly weapon related to a previous carjacking after being released from prison in June of this year. PRCS is a conditional release from the California Department of Corrections where the individual is placed under supervision to the jurisdiction of a county agency.
The SRPD Violent Crime Team took over the investigation and actively searched for Leaton-Gomez until he turned himself in Tuesday. A reward of up to $2,500 was offered for information leading to Leaton-Gomez's arrest. Individuals were advised to contact police if Leaton-Gomez was spotted due to his violent behavior.
Leaton-Gomez was booked into the jail for felony carjacking, felony battery, felony elder abuse and felony violation of Post Release Community Supervision. Police said he was not given bail based on the charges.
